To have/not have kids.. how in the world do you make up your

[TheWife]

Do I sound grouchy? See what you have to look forward to next year Amber? And you'll have a new born on top of it. And the boys, let me tell you, that pee can fly!!! If you don't do a good job of pointing the penis into the toilet while they go, you better be ready with a ladder to wash pee off your ceiling. How does so much pee travel so far out of such a small little boy? I thought I wouldn't have to worry about this for another year cause every one says boys don't potty train till they are 3. Little Stinker of mine wants to be all early :evil:

[Kristie]

[quote:7b904ecc78="MQAAord"]Ooooh, I guess the ole' potty training isn't going so well............... :shock:[/quote:7b904ecc78] sounds like it's not...

OHHH MICHELLE :shock: ... that just sounds so HILARIOUSLY fun.. i mean, when you think back a few years from now or even when Caleb is 21.. you'll have a good story to tell ALL his friends!

that was great...now, i think i'll go smooch on the cats some!

I'm still thinking about what ya'll have said.. i haven't forgotten nor am I ignoring k?! 8)

[skibum515]

ya, don't worry too much these will be good embaressing stories later on in life. My mom has a good one of when I was being potty trained and it involves the mall...I'm just going to leave it at that because it's bad. For her and everyone else it's hiliariuos but for me oh man...that is embaressing!! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]ops:

[MQAAord]

[quote:28feb0e3fc="Kristie"]
I'm still thinking about what ya'll have said.. i haven't forgotten nor am I ignoring k?! 8)
[/quote:28feb0e3fc]

Understood! And, no matter what, we're all here to support & help ya! 8)






:shock: (I just love that bug-eyed smiley, I don't know why.....)

[Barbara]

This is a little too cutesy, but I haven't seen anything posted on this topic in a couple weeks

"The Cost of Kids
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 8 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have
children if you want to be "rich." It is just the opposite. What do your get for your $160,140?

Naming rights, --- First, middle, and last!
Glimpses of God everyday.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.A partner for blowing bubbles,
flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in
the pouring rain.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or
how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never have to grow up.
You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch
lightning bugs, and never stop believing in magic.

You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney Land, and wishing
on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle art, hand prints set in clay
for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling a
wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball
team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first
word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky,
a long list of limbs in your family tree called grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice,
communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.
You have all the power to heal a booboo, scare away the monsters under
the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them
forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like
you, love without counting the cost."

[loveyfly]

Kristie, I don't think you are ever ready to have kids. I was not dying to have a baby, but I always knew I would have one, at least. I don't really think Rob knew if he wanted a child or not. IIRC, we talked about it and then decided to not try and prevent a pregnancy. I got pregnant w/in 6 months. Rob is a wonderful father. He adores our baby. He actually asked me the other day if I wanted another, I said I wasn't sure yet (I had a terrible time w/ Post Partumn Depression), he said he would like another. This from someone who said it didn't matter if he had kids.

It is a hard decision. Being a parent is the most wonderful, rewarding job and the hardest you will ever do, imho. I can't imagine my life w/o my baby. I miss him when he naps and at night. I love the smell of him, the fat little hands and feet. He is perfect angel. He is a gift. It really is amazing how much you love them.

I don't know if this helps or not. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Good luck in your decision.

[av8rwyf]

Ok, here's my recent take on kids...

I am a self proclaimed spoiled brat! I blame my parents for this. They gave into my bratty ways and I got my way ALOT. Thats the only thing I blame my folks for. Other than that, they were nothing but perfect parents to me and I love them dearly!

I thought I wanted kids. Then I had one. Then I thought, "Holy crap!" What have I gotten myself into? Post partum depression, colicky baby for 4 months, and the inability to go anywhere on a whim! What was I thinking????? Then he smiled. I thought, "He's not so bad." Then he laughed. I thought, "How adorable!" Then he took his first steps and I thought, "Where did my baby go????" Then the tantrums came, the time outs, the battle of wills and I thought, "If anyone EVER tried to hurt him or take him away from me, God help me b/c that individual or entity would be in a world of trouble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Then....I got pregnant again...I havent slept thru the night in over 3 mos. I'm so tired I ache. But then, he smiles....

You get the picture? It somehow, all works out. I think that if we never had kids, I would be perfectly happy. But we have two. One of which is ever most challenging and I wouldnt give him up for the world! My Mom asks me all the time, "Now! can you ever remember a time with out them?" Heck yeah! Dates w/ my husbands? Nights out w/ friends that resulted in a wicked hangover but it was worth it, etc. Yeah, I remember and thats not a bad thing. But I love being the Mom of two boys but relish my days of "freedom" too. I think thats normal. I dont look down on anyone who chooses not to have kids. I think its an individual choice and what works for that couple. Kids are hard. Period.

One of my favorite memories will always be what happened last night. After an evening of busy activity keeping both boys happy and trying to inhale my own dinner, Jack, my 2 1/2 y/o, ended up pooping on his potty stool b/c I ignored his pleas to "pee pee" in the potty earlier that evening. We're in the beginning process (of PT) and he usually says it only to just sit or stand there w/ a grin on his face b/c he's excited to be naked. I was tired and hungry and not up for it...turns out, he meant it that time.

It's all in how you look at things and like I've posted before. Once you make a choice, embrace it. Dont fight it. You'll only make yourself unhappy if you do.

Hope this helps....