Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Remember when:
    
    You never stepped foot in a doctor's office
    You never had to watch your language in your own home
    You could go out partying until 3:00 in the morning and still get
       plenty of sleep.
    You never owned stock in Bubble Bath, Baby Magic or ChildWorld.
    You thought children's books were stupid
    You NEVER watched any program on Channel 2
    You never had to pretend their was really a Santa Claus.
    You never made up names for private parts of a human's body
    You never, ever bought a box of Cheerios
    
    That's about all I can think of at the moment.  You did an excellent
    job Sue!
    
    
    Gail
    

. . . it took two hours to plan a weekend outing, rather than a weekend to 
plan a two hour outing.

Clay

    
    remember when you used to go to the bathroom in peace without little
    fists banging on the bathroom door?!!!
    
    
    Those days are gone, for a while anyway!
    
    
    Sandy

    remember when you used to go to the bathroom without little people
    watching you :-)
    
    Bev

    >  remember when you used to go to the bathroom in peace without little
    >  fists banging on the bathroom door?!!!
    
    Remember when you used to have a telephone conversation in peace
    without SHRILL VOICES and little fists beating you about the head
    and shoulders?!
    
    Remember when you did your menu planning at 5:30 every night at the
    local convenience store/fast food outlet?
    
    Leslie
   

    Remember when you didn't sound like your mother/father.
                  you did laundry once a week.
                  you could listen to your own music.
                  you worried only about yourself.
                  you had money in your purse.
                  you worried about today, not tomorrow.
    

    Remember when your cassette collection did not include Sesame Street?
    Remember when you could make plans to go out for the evening and not 
    have to hire a babysitter?
    Remember when you weren't dead tired at 9:00 p.m.?
    
    Lori B. 

    Remember when you didn't have a carseat on the backseat, a stroller in
    the trunk, toys and bits of food on the car floor, and sun shades on
    the windows?
    
    Remember when you didn't have whole milk in the refrigerator, baby food
    jars in the cabinet, and a drawer full of bottles, nipples, sippy cups,
    and tiny silver spoons?
    
    Remember when you didn't have toys in the bathtub?
    
    Remember when you only dragged out one garbage can per week?
    
    Remember when you could stay out all day on the weekend, and didn't
    have to plan around naps?
    
    L

    here's the one I can relate to:
    
    Remember when you used to scout out the 24 hour convienience store,
    because they had a stock of beer and wine....Now you scout out the
    convienience store at 3 a.m. because they carry a full supply of
    Pampers, Milk and Baby Tylenol!
    
    Along the same lines, Remember when Saturday night meant a night out on
    the town, Now you find yourself in a Grocery Store line with baby
    necessities and PET food!!
    
    Remember when the only thing you had to worry about with the first
    major snowstorm was how good are my tires and wipers, and do I have
    enough windshield washer fluid....NOW it's do last year's boots,
    snowsuit and mittens fit, for that matter Do I even KNOW where these
    blasted things are?
    
    Lyn
    (who's feeling mommy burn-out! and lovin every minute of this!)
    

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    	R.W.  all you wanted in life was a baby !

    You guys are so right.  Sometimes I forget that I'm going to miss
    all the Chaos.  This note is beautiful!

    Remember when you could walk through a room without stepping on a single
    Lego?

    Remember when the only person who ate your supper was you?  (or do
    other people's kids not insist on sharing what's on their parents'
    plates??)

    Remember when you used to sit down at the start of a meal and not stand
    up again until it was over?

    Remember when you used to wonder whether you really would be able to
    figure out how to be a good parent?

    And, as I often think when looking at my almost-4-year-old: Remember
    when he was so small that his head fit just right against my neck,
    under my chin, soft and warm...

    
    
     Remember when your dress size only had one digit in it!!
    

    Remember when you could take a 20 minute shower?
    
    Remember when, after return to work and having the most miserable day,
    the baby smiled at you when you returned...making you feel like you
    were the best person on earth and all was well with the world?

    Remember when ....
    
    You thought there was something missing in your life.
    
    And now you don't have that feeling anymore.....................
    
    

    Remember when you could walk through the house stepping on every
    squeaky board in the floor....but now you have to tiptoe an obsticle
    course to avoid the squeaks because the baby's sleeping!!
    
    (incidently, I know where every squeak in the house is, haha!)
    
    Sandy

    ...you did not have anyone to say "I'll sleep in your bed to keep you
    company, mom" when your husband was out of town....

    ...you did not have to lock a closet to keep anyone from finding their
    Christmas presents prematurely...
    
    ...Everything was where you left it (I guess this was before
    Marriage..)
    
    

...you used to have to set the alarm in the morning

...a roll of film lasted *months* in the camera

...you used to think all babies looked alike

...you used to read magazines

...you used to not appreciate your mother/father

    
    
    	RE: ...you used to read magazines
    
    	That were DRY and UNwrinkled.  (8
    
    	/Kim

 RW - you were the one who stated after grocery shopping

	There's nothing to eat.

    - you picked up only after your SO 

    - you could get out of bed and when you returned  it was still empty

    - you would wake up at 3 AM for fun not a bottle

    - your car was yours and not your child's

    - You stayed up after the kids went to bed; now they stay up after
      you go to bed

    - your stereo was yours

    - your record collection was in order and put away

    - you thought the house was your's and not the kids

    - you were smart before they turned 15

    - your parents wished that your kids were as bad as you were and you
      said no way 
    
    - you thought the kids could help with the chores

    -when you were looking for a house you didn't care about the schools?

    -  You could eat a whole meal - and it was WARM
    -  You could buy something for the house and not wonder if it would
    fall over if climbed on or get stained if spit on, or injure someone.
    -  You could watch a whole video without interruption - and it was not
    Sesame Street or Little Mermaids
    -  Sex was spontaneous, not scheduled around nap time
    -  You went to a restaurant because the food and service was good, not
    because it was a good place to take kids.
    -  You felt in control of your life
    -  You could never figure out why people talked about all the hassles
    of having kids but said they would do it again and couldn't imagine
    being without them.
    
    Michelle
    

- 	your neighbor helped you put in/take out the very heavy
	air conditioner

-	your neighbor's *son helped you put in/take out the very
	heavy air conditioner

-	you helped your neighbor's *son put in/take out the very
	heavy air conditioner

As of the first bullet, said "neighbor's son" was 4 feet tall; as of last 
bullet, he is 6'2", 225 lbs.

Clay

    RE: .15 EXACTLY.
    
    
    REMEMBER WHEN: You did three loads of laundry a week instead of a day.
    
    
    Remember When: You didn't know what it was like to have children
    around, and then after they were born they taught you how to feel again
    and what love was all about again.
    
    You didn't know what it was like to hear I love you from the a little
    person, a child of your own?
    
    
    Mike-who may have not done too much right in his life, but becoming a
    father was definitely one of them.
    
    

    To paraphrase a John Denver song ...
    Do you remember when the world was run by people twice your size ?
    
    
    

 From .23
   -  You went to a restaurant because the food and service was good, not
    because it was a good place to take kids.

My Version:
    -  You went to a restaurant because the food and service was good, not
    because they don't mind Cheerios all over the floor.


Wendy

    Remember when you promised yourself that you would *never* lick a
    kleenex to wipe something off of a child's face?  or nose?
    
    Remember saying about other people's children, I will never:
    	let my child eat in the living room
    	let my child eat in the car
    	bring my child to the mall 
    	let my child sleep in our bed
    and now you do?
    
    Remembering wondering before having children if you could ever love
    them?  (and now that love is so strong you'll kill for him/her)
    
    I wouldn't change anything for the world.

    Remember when you *didn't* smell like Eau De Baby Barf?
    ...when you actually bought clothes that said "Dry clean only"?
    ...when you owned white *anything*?
    ...when laundry was something you did once a month, instead of
       five times a week?
    

    Eau de Baby Barf!!!!!!  BAHAHahahahaha!!
    
    Remember when you didn't reflexively move your dining companion's glass 
    back 12 inches from the edge of the table (even when said companion 
    is an *adult*)?!
    
    Leslie

    Remember when you would buy *glasses* to drink from instead of plastic
    cups.

    Remember when you could lay in your bed on a weekend without being 
    climbed over and pushed out.

    Remember when your house wasn't sticky, and you didn't find
    unidentifiable pieces of food stuck down the couch cushions. 
    (Actually, I think my husband is responsible for the food in the couch)
    
    Remember when you wondered what it would be like to be a parent, and
    now you can't imagine NOT being a parent.
    
    ...and the first time your child put his/her arms around your neck and
    gave you a hug.....and you melted.
    
    I now wonder what it would be like to have another...
    
    Kathy

   Remember when that tune that's running through your head and just
   won't leave was something off the radio, and not one of the songs
   from Cinderella ?
   
   Remember when "just going out to run a few errands" took longer to
   do the errands than to get out of the house?
   
   - Tom

    Remember when you thought you knew everything there was to know about
    your spouse....then you both became parents?...

    Remember when you never thought about owning stock in a battery
    company?
    
    Hamp

Remember when you'd see dirty kids in public and wondered: "How could those
parents take that child out like that?", way before you knew that no kid
STARTS the day looking that way!

Remember when you never cared what anyone else did in the bathroom, and
you wouldn't think of asking?

Remember when you had all the answers?  Including what kind of parent you'd
be and what kind of kids you'd have?

Remember when adults could ride in your car to lunch, without shifting
carseats?

Remember when your refrigerator had two magnets and a shopping list on it?

Remember when you'd never heard of amoxocillin?

    Remember when you went shopping for clothes for yourself and weren't
    drawn like a magnet to the baby section, ending up with new clothes
    for him/her and nothing for yourself?
    
     Remember when you could be selfish?
    
     

Remember when you went on Business trips and didnt buy presents.
Remember saying you would never show baby pictures by the hundreds
planning to take a vacation to a place where you could rest, now you look for 
places that have things for children to do.

How about not leaving a big tip to the wait person that has to clean up when 
you leave a resturant.

Swearing you would never use words like toots, dodo, and "because I said so"

Not understanding why every parent thinks their children beautiful even when
there not.

Not having a thousand barretts.

     

    		AND WE SHOULD ALL REMEMBER THIS....
    
			TO MY GROWN-UP-CHILD

		My hands were busy through the day,
		I didn't have much time to play
		The little games you asked me to.
		I didn't have much time for you,
		I'd wash your clothes, I'd serve and cook
		But when you'd bring your picture book
		And ask me please to share your play
		I'd say:"A little later in the day."
		I'd tuck you in all safe at nite
		And hear your prayers, turn out the lite.
		Then Tip-Toe softly to the door....
		I'd wish I'd stayed a little more.
		For life is short, the years rush past...
		A little child grows up so fast.
		They are no longer at your side.
		Their precious secrets to confide.
		The picture books are put away.
		There are no longer games to play....
		No good-night kiss, no prayers to hear..
		That all belongs to yesteryear.
		My hands, once busy, now are still....
		The days long and hard to fill..
		I wish i could go back and do
		The little things you asked me to!!!!!

    

remember when the last fiction book you read started WITHOUT the words

"Once upon a time ..."

    re: .38
    
    That was beautiful.  I printed it out and will hang it on my
    refrigerator to remind me never to say, "I'm too busy right now!"
    
    Lori B.

    RE:  You COULD run out for errands!
    
    Remember when you only went to McDonald's late at night through the
    drive thru because you were hungry!!!

Remember when sorting socks was easy, because theirs were so much smaller 
than yours?

   Remember when you would have never, *never* considered eating
   anybody else's half chewed crackers, even if they did try to push
   it into your mouth...
   
   

Remember when you had really nice ornaments **ALL** over your Chirstmas tree,
instead of just the top half!

    Remember when a broken ornament was a rare occurrence? (The glue gun
    now seems like a part of the Christmas decorations...)
    
    Remember when you could get by with having only a couple of spare
    batteries, tucked away in some junk drawer, likely to die on their own
    before they had a chance to get used?
    
    Remember wondering, as you got older, how your parents managed to pull
    off the "Santa Claus" charade somewhere between the hours of 3 and 4 AM?

    I looked down at my hands while driving in this morning and...
    
    Remember when you had beautiful *long* brightly polished  nails.  Now what
    you have is spotty clear polish on the little "clinical length" nails.  Oh
    the mommy guilt when you've accidently scratched your pride and joy
    with a long nail!
    
    Lyn

    I thought this was cute enough to relate here...
    
    At a New Year's eve party at a friend's house, we were each pulling out
    the pictures of our charming children, to show our newly made friends.
    One man pulled out a picture from his wallet annouced that this is his
    "pride and joy".  So what's in the picture...
    
    
    
    
    A wallet size picture of "pride" furniture polish along side of a
    bottle of "joy" dish soap!
    
    I guess you just had to be there....
    
    Lyn
    
    Happy New year  moms, dad, and others!
    

My husband has been carrying his "Pride nad Joy" for 7 years now!  I thought
he was the only one who had one...or who was crazy enough to actually show it!

-sandy

    Re: .46 Long polished nails
    
    I had to laugh when reading this one cause today at lunchtime I did my
    nails. If I don't do them on my lunch break they don't get done. My
    husband just gave me the Mary Kay Nail System so I just had to try it
    out. Even with a baby I still keep my nails on the longish side, but
    not anywhere near as long as before she was born.
    
    Patty

    Sandy, the picture was being carried by a Century 21 Real Estate
    agent!!  Maybe you don't have to be crazy to sell real estate, but if
    you don't have a sense of humor it these days in particular would drive
    an agent crazy.
    
    By the way, at this new year's ever party the *children* were invited!!
    I didn't have to haul out any wallet size pictures, I had the REAL
    thing!
    
    Lyn.
    
    
    
    
    
    Oh how about this one....
    
    Remember when you could make a cake, brownies or pudding without
    hearing a plea of "mommy can I help you?", and the only one who got to
    lick the beaters was YOU!!
    
    Lyn

    Remember when you didn't get to work and discover a patch of the
    baby's breakfast smearked across your pantsleg just at mouth
    height? 
    
    Oh, well, it's better than the cereal on the sweater that you
    discover as you're going into an important meeting.  You know, the
    kind it looks like you drooled yourself?
    
    --bonnie

    RW you felt like an impostor shopping for baby clothes?