Glad to hear you are back in one piece ;) :p Can't wait to hear all about the trip!

I've been busy with the boys and getting ready for my oldest's very first day of school :eek: Also hard to believe that my 2yr old is close to 3 :eek::eek: And the baby...well, he Ain't no baby no more ;)

These past two nights I've been a bit of an insomniac, guess my mind is churning a mile a minute, lol....just had my neuro appt today...went well, back in 6 months. :cool:

Hi Gladys!! Glad to hear that your appointment went well:) Our trip was good for the first week. Saffy and I share a tent of our own....you know how sleeping with 3 others males could be....they sweat, bedhog, and fart all night!!!:p The last 1/2 Saff started getting these big red welts all over her. I took her to the docs thinking that she had chicken pox but they were sand flea bites and she happens to react horribly to them. She also has an ear infection...so I spent alot of time at home with her...we popped in for visits at the campsite...it is only 20 mins from here. Over all it was good but Saff and I are still off our scheduale!!!!!!!! I just got her laid down after 11pm!!
I'll pop in tomorrow....good to hear from you Gladys!!!:hug::hug::hug:

Sounds like you had quite the adventure :hug: Hope the sand flea bites are all cleared up?! And an ear infection, to boot?! :hug: :hug:

We are doing well over here...enjoying the end of summer :D

HI EVERYONE!! I miss everyone so much!! Hubby is away again on business this Mon to Thurs so I will only be here for the weekend!
I hope everyone is able to pop in this weekend...I hope you are all doing ok.:grouphug:

Hi Dorrie!!

I've been popping in here and there. Been busy, my oldest just started Kindergarten...My how fast the time flies, :)

Hope all is well in your home:hug:

Hubby celebrated 8 years yesterday!!!!! Hope everyone is doing OK!
Please everybody check in when you can:grouphug:

Hey Dorrie!

I just realized there was message here about my 'brooding' mood. I was feeling rather moody this week. I think a combination of being female :rolleyes: and just feeling 'blah' about my in-laws. I'm also getting reconnected with my mom after the summer off/away from her. With my in-laws, my sister in-laws mainly, I just don't feel that 'connection.' Was feeling a bit sad, realizing more and more why my DH stayed away from his family for a while(before me.) Not they they are bad/terrible people or anything like that, au contraire, it's just we live on different wave-lengths and have differing views on the world. I guess before in my little polly-anna, naive view on the world, I thought we would somehow 'feel' like 'family' just by virtue of my being married to their brother. Yeah....that ain't happening :rolleyes: Somewhere along this summer, I grew up in so many ways, on so many levels. Is that what sobriety brings? A newfound sense of maturity? So I guess I've been brooding over the 'what never was and what never will be's.

ON the brighter side of all this. I had always hoped that they'd teach me how to make their rices and empenadas. Well, all these years later, it just is not happening. So tonight, was my first attempt at the rice. It came out awesome! :) Later this week I'm going to try my hand at empenadas. I hope they come out just as well. :D

Well, I'm just checking in! Hope your weekend was well! :hug:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!:grouphug:

Happy or (un-happy ;) ) Monday!

I spent the weekend getting the two littles one's winter clothes together. Packed up all the outgrown size and have that washed folded and ready to go to familia. Hard to believe that the two little ones are wearing the same size:eek: I knew it would happen eventually since they are only 15months apart. My youngest is one very big kid! All my kids are big, but my Brett...he's going to be one very tall man! He was 34.5inches at his 18month check-up...and I know he's grown this summer, lol. Will find out in January :p

My weekend was well. Wasn't too thrilled with football yesterday, but what can you do? ;)

Hope everyone is well this week :grouphug:

Going tonite for my weekly special out of the county.

Didn't go to meetings for 14 years...reclusive due to illness and other excuses.:D Been going since last year and HEY! it helps with my quality of life. Plus I need to be giving some back, eh?

Sobriety date 7/4/85. The most precious of gifts.

Normally lurk due to difficulty writing.

Best to us all,
Jeff

Hey there Jeff!! Welcome to the addictions forum!!
Wow 23 years...that is wonderful!! Congratulations:hug:!!
The meetings really help me too! I am nervous about going back...don't know why...they are my friends!!!
I have only been to 1 meeting in the last year or so...but I know I will be glad once I get there!!!! I used to go to 4 a week for the first 5 years or so...then life starts to really happen!!!!! Glad to have you here Jeff!!

Still alive....still sober....still happy!!
hope everyone else is OK too. Check in when you can everyone!!:grouphug:

I'm around :) Still sober, still living in a 'dry' house :D

My second son turns 3 next week, we are keeping it simple, YAY! Getting ready for the big financial crunch of the wintertime...we will survive, we always find a way :)
This year will be a little tighter, but that's a great thing, since don't want to replace the savings on alcohol with more 'stuff' ...timing couldn't be better for us.

For the kids, will be shifting from a monetary budget, to a limit on the number of toys. I'm thinking 5 each? The amount of kids stuff has been getting quite overwhelming. Though we toss out the 'broken' stuff, doing so barely makes a dent. I find with less trips to the liquor store, there are less trips to the toy store? ?

Also been doing 'fall' cleaning, lol....my own version of 'spring' cleaning, but swapping out the seasons.

Well, the empanadas came out fantabulous....got some good, economical recipes added to the menu, yay me....

Welcome, Jeff!! :hug:

Well, that's it on my own personal update :D

Hope everyone is well! :grouphug:

At the 'end', I realized how much was actually being spent on booze. Wayyy too much. Of course living in the world of denial, it was always justified. Though bills are still tough and things are tight, it's not as hopeless as before. Alcohol made it worse. Glad that world has ended for us...moving on to greener pastures, so to speak ;)

{can't wait for the days of diapers to come to a screeching halt, lol ;)}

__________________

I know what you mean!!!!!!!!!:D

Well, I'm still choosing the sober path! :) MY patchwork brain doesn't need to come undone by using anything that alters it, I have a tough enough time keeping to a rational state of mind as it is, some days :)

I can't imagine what I was doing to my brain before...I'm glad I'm sober! It brings a little relief to those tough days, because my brain just don't work right on those tough and tired days.

Glad to be here! :hug:

:hug::hug:Hugs for you Gladys!:hug::hug:

:Wave-Hello:Hi everyone!! I have missed you all!! Checkin in...hope everyone is doing OK!!:grouphug:

:hug: Checkin In :hug:

Had a busy weekend with my middle son's 3rd birthday! Wow, hard to believe how quickly time flies by!

Also celebrated my 1 yr anniversary for my MS dx and am about to celebrate 1 year on Copaxone for the MS. Busy week ;) :hug:

Think I'm getting a cold or something, I've got a sore throat, and have been feeling fatigued....other than that ;) :D ....Life is well :D

I actually stopped drinking around this time last year, when I started meds....started back up in March, then stopped for good in May, after I realized my mind could no longer tolerate the drink.... :hug:

Oh Happy Birthday to your son:hug:and a hug too!!

Good to hear from our Gladys!!! I am happy to see that you are OK! Hey...you wil have 6 months next month...Yahoo!:Dancing-Chilli:

Good Wednesday!

Checkin In! Just got back from the dermatologist and the moles of concern get to stay on my back, as well...they are normal looking :D Yay! Kind of figured, as the 'one' that always seemed to freak out the nurses, et al...I've had since I was born.

Going on 6 months next week, today! Can't believe how quickly the time flies by. I just stumbled upon a website today, as I was looking into acoa. www.recoveryissexy.com
It has info about almost every imaginable addiction one could be trying to recover from.

I haven't meant to disappear from here as sporadically as I have. Life just seems to catch up to me that way, sometimes:) If I'm not posting as much, it doesn't mean I'm not reading :)

:hug: :hug: :hug:

Don't you worry Gladys! I know you are around helping others!! Isn't that something...6 months coming up!!! WOW!
I started going back to meetings and oh my goodness I feel so much better. They really help me there. I have been so stressed out...I go there and I can dump my ***** on the table...I have felt much better and got to see so many people who have helped me so much...I never realized how much I have missed them!!! Hope all is well with you and the boys Gladys!!! Good to hear from you!!:hug:

Just checking in on this Sunday Night. 6 months will be here before I realize it, WOW!

Had a busy, yet fun family weekend! Enjoyed the nice weather and the boys had a blast between Trick or Treat, playing in piles of leaves and going to a Fall Carnival-where my oldest spent time with schoolmates.

Good times!

Hope everyone had a good weekend :hug:

I actually Missed my 6-month marker, here! ;) Like OMG! {I've been teaching my oldest to say O-M-G instead of Oh My G*D---he's catching on :D}

I've been dealing with a cold all week long, been a bit on the exhausted side of life, but it's all good.....

Other than dealing with the stressors of having an almost 2 yr old and definitely having a 3 yr old in my home, well....I don't envy myself, LOL :eek::winky:

My 3yr old goes for an informal speech evaluation next week. From there, they will determine whether to go all out with the formal evaluation. I'm taking it in stride, I realize what the ramifications are of this, but hey, it's not like it doesn't happen to what(?) 1 in 40? Darn genetics, lol ;) :cool:
He's a smart and cheerful young man, I see the opportunities in this all. Life is certainly much different today than it was 30 years ago....all of our children and grandchildren are and will be better off for all the changes and awareness this world has gone through....but I digress.

I suppose in the past, I used to drink and smoke my woes be gone. Of course, the woes never really seemed to leave me behind....

So here I am, saying, Hi, Hello, It's me GladysD and I'm checking in....it's been over 6 months and I'm a much better person (and writer too) for it!!!

:hug::grouphug::hug::grouphug::hug::grouphug::hug: :grouphug::hug:

Oh Gladys I am so sorry I missed your 6 month mark!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! You are doing great! Hope the boys are all ok....Hubby is away all week so I will try to pop in next weekend. Life has been stressful lately...will catch up later..take care...Luv Dorrie:hug:

Hi :) Checking In...

This week has been quite busy. The youngest had his crib converted to toddler bed over the weekend and now all the boys are sharing a room.....it's been an adventure in parenting as the bedtime routines have changed to accomodate the room changes. So far so good, although I'm starting to get used to seeing the three of them in the middle of the night when I check, curled up on the floor sleeping next to one another----kind of precious when you think about it :wink:

Also this week has been busy, as my 3yr old decided this is the week he's going to use the potty....he's doing great, I bet he'll be out of diapers before I can say diapers, lol....

I also sent in the paperwork to get the formal evaluations started. At the least he's going to need speech therapy twice a week. In a way, good for me if he can get enrolled into the preschool program :cool:....although I'm shaking my head in disbelief that sooner than I planned, I may be down to just one kid in the house....*breathing a small sigh of relief* :winky:

Hope all is well.....

Checkin in. Just wanted to share that I've gone to 2 meetings so far and plan to go to more. I've found a good group :)

That is great news Gladys...are they alanon meetings? I have been in both AA and Alanon and both groups were wonderful!!
When I read that your youngest is in a big bed I giggled....just last week Saffire moved into her big girl bed!!!! It has been really good....she gets up earlier...makes for nap changes and I am really tired at night...but so is Saff!!:D I started going back to my AA meetings as did hubby...we take turns and that is great too...I missed everyone there and have been able to really put my issues out on the table!! Good to be here...I miss it here!!:hug:

Yep, I started Al-Anon. I'm finding it a good fit, thus far :D

How ironic about Safi and Brett both moving into the big kid beds the same weekend :hug:

Hi Dorrie!!! Still here, still sober as a bright sunshiny morning and still loving the 'dry' life ;)

I think getting sick is what enabled me to finally put the focus on ME :) Going to Al-anon helps reinforce that. I used to be reactive and bend over backwards to be everything to everyone and after having my third child and getting the dx of MS, and all that goes along with that...well....I realized I can't be 'that girl' anymore! It was time for me to take hold of the reigns and become the woman I am becoming :) I didn't even know/realize that I was a child of this illness until this past spring. What an enlightening awareness that has been for me. When I look at all the things that are/what an Adult Child are, I realize how much applies to me. And now I can focus on changing and becoming a better, stronger person.....one day at a time :)

I'm just checking in and saying hello! It's been a busy couple of weeks, and the next couple should be just as busy preparing for the holiday :)

Well Wishes to Everyone! :hug:

Hi Gladys....your post made me really smile..I am so happy for you!!!

http://ts3.images.live.com/images/th...6ea87a08c2d1d6

I really like this!! I love the butterfly in the center of it all as well!!

Hi everyone....I was reflecting just now. I remember one christmas...my last christmas drinking. My kids were at my Mom and Dads place...I was not welcome there I let on like I did not care! I was cooking a turkey for me and my kids....I remember feeling very sorry for myself when my new boyfriend arrived with a friend of his to meet me for the first time. I had bleach on my hair...in my pjs...drunker than drunk. I was cooking my turkey....did not clean it out....cooked the bag in....did not dress or baste it...made nothing else with it and even though the kids said later that they did not mind eating it...I tossed the whole bird..upset that it looked ridiculous....blamed the world...drank some more...ruined it for everyone...etc This will be my 9th sober christmas!! I can cook a turkey worthy of eating now. I am welcome at my parents home..I do not pick Christmas day to dye my hair now...no longer have that boyfriend ( he liked to drink!) and it is now very important for me to be sure that everyone has a wonderful christmas...it matters now!!! Thank God for my sobriety !!!!
PS...Sorry for rambling..just a remember when...I need them sometimes!!!:grouphug:

This was 'that' Christmas/Holiday season of realizing why it is that I used to like to drown those stressful feelings! Tough, but well worth it!

Hey Gang!! Hope the Holidays were good to all!
How did everyone do? I know that sometimes it can be tough at holiday time. I did fine but I have been so sick for the last month..been home alot...at least I can come here and not give all of you my germs!!!!!!!:grouphug: