Awwww ... Anne! I'm so sorry that Mickey has left you. He now romps near The Bridge with the other good doggies biding his time until you are once again reunited. Give extra cuddles to Laddie ... and yourself!

Posted by canadianviolet (My Page) on Tue, Dec 6, 05 at 18:27 Thank you to all the ladies who helped in the search !! HUGS, Hazelanne Here is the poem: CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE CITY Author Unknown From circa 1935 It was Christmas Eve in the city, the shops were all bright and gay; With many a wreath and holly, and many a mistletoe spray. And clustering round each window, were groups of children bright, Gazing at toys and sweetmeats, with wonder and delight. Two little lads were passing, hungry, wet and lame, Born in a slum so wretched, living in sin and shame. No one to soothe or pity no one to care or love Father a drunkard and mother, safe in yon heaven above. Now they are reaching the attic; desolate, cold and chill, Two little friendless urchins, poor little Mike and Bill. Mike, he was only seven  Billy had just turned four, Singing in the streets for a living, begging from door to door. Christmas had come with its presents, gifts for young and for old. Thousands next morn would be singing, of angels and harps of gold. Many a pampered favorite would have presents enough and to spare, But no one thought of the garret and the two little urchins there. "Mike" whispered Bill with a shiver, "Who is that cove Santa Claus Who comes and brings presents at Christmas? I guess heÂs a rich chap Because he never comes down our alley, but brings them to folks up town. They say he has long white whiskers, and a great red crimson gown. If I only knew where to find him, IÂd tell him about you and me, And perhaps if he wasnÂt too stingy, heÂd give us some bread and some tea." "I donÂt think he lives down here", said the tiny boy of seven. "I think Santa Clause is God who lives up above in Heaven". "O that canÂt be right", said Billy, "for teacher says, you see, That God loves all his children and, of course, that means you and me, But if you are quite sure of it, letÂs ask Him now and see." So two little hungry laddies, knelt down in the shavings bare, And two little hands in prayer ascend to the ChildrenÂs Savior, from out of the garret bare  "Dear Jesus, King of Glory, look down from Heaven and see Two little boys in a garret  Billy and Mike  thatÂs me. Father he kicks us and beats us, Mother is with you up there, We have begged all day in the city and no one seems to care. Please donÂt forget the number, but send Santa Claus this way With presents for me and Billy  tomorrow  thatÂs Christmas Day. We donÂt want no toys or play things, only some bread to eat, Some shoes and a pair of stockings for poor little BillyÂs feet." This done the two little tired laddies laid down in the shavings bare While angels from Heaven descended to answer the simple prayer. Soon dawned the Christmas morning, the churches were bright and gay With thousands of joyous children gathering to praise and pray. The sun shone into the garret and into the shavings bare -- It lit up the two pinched faces of the two little urchins there. But the two little bodies were lifeless, For the two little souls had fled To a heaven of warmth and comfort, To a feast of living bread. And safe in the arms of Jesus, two little urchins fair, Are thanking the children's Savior, who answered Mike's little prayer.

Whats up peeps! Oh how I missed you all! Chell happy happy to see you back... Good to see your new profession... I hope no poop hangers like my Yorkie poo and Maltese...hahhah I am cracking up..:) I need to shave them... big cracking up......hahahhah I wished I could have joined life sometimes gets in the way.... Big time! Smiling now I think hahahh Gotta look in a mirror.... Cracking up again... At least I am laughing again.... I miss all of you alot you all will never know how much! Peace and quiet is good for me though hahahha I talk too much.... Hahahhah Well wanted to send smiles out to you all my friends! Love you all... Ps always send a smile hahahah Barb

WOW! From the bottom of my heart Thank You Thank You Thank You all! I loved and greatly appreciated the hugs and support, commiseration and encomium. I guess it's true: misery loves company! Although I am so sorry anyone has to feel stress during what should be an exciting, wonderful time. (Guess this applies to both remodeling as well as child-rearing, although it's laughable to think either could be without stress! Thats why two of my favorite parenting books are The B**ch in the House and Mothers Who Think.) You know the way the child of an alcoholic might be reluctant to ever drink for fear of turning into their parent? For me, that's the way I feel about yelling. My mother was mean as spit and her yelling was ugly, personal, belittling and usually segued into hitting. I'm sure this is why my yelling at my children rattled me so. I waited a long time to start my family (I was 34 when I had my first) so that I could go through therapy to ensure I did not turn into my mother. (I think this is common here in the States, not wanting to turn into our parents!) So more than you know, I sincerely, deeply appreciate the comments of telling me I handled it well and that I'm a good mother and haven't scarred my children for life. That's my biggest fear -- I mean, I am terrified of heights, but the fear of hurting my children paralyzes me. Yesterday (day after yelling) my 3.5 year-old and I attended a birthday party, dressed, at his urging (this was not a costume party), as Spiderman and Spidermom. He wanted everyone to know "we're superheroes together!" After we got home, my 19 month-old asked me for a "tickle-cuddle," so I guess they've both forgiven me as well as moved past it. Kids are more resilient than I give them credit for. Phew! hilltophome, I think you are right, that I need to just put the cats in the basement (where we hang out lots so they won't be without human companionship) because their long-term well-being is much more important than their short-term sun-worshiping. And with a wonderful user name like cat_mom, I bet she'll agree! kitchenkelly, thank you for the use of your morgue drawers! Even though I have a foul mouth and talk a big talk, I'm a pacifist, so I'm really hopeful I won't borrow them. But it'll make an excellent threat to the next jerk who crosses my path! (re: my foul mouth: The night of the dirty bathroom, my 3.5 year-old asked his daddy "Why's Dux [his name for me] 'so f***ing angry?'" Ahem.) Francy, thank you both for letting me know you've walked in my shoes as well as saying I handled it well! Coming from you, who has such a sweet presence here on GW, means a lot. raehelen and hilltophome, thank you for reminding me of two of my favorite self-soothers: chocolate and exercise. I really do need to just put the kiddos in the buggy and go out for a walk! Fresh air can do wonders. And if there's a chocolate treat for the three of us to have midway on our walk, all the better. (This is how I know the boys are genetically mine: they both love chocolate. One of my proudest achievements Â.) divamum, thank you for your impeccable list of daily to-dos and reminder of how hard this is supposed to be .... I'd really thought I was prepared after months of reading (hardships) here on GW, but clearly for some of it I was not. Need to renew my prescription for Perfect Pills! (note to self: first discover "Perfect Pills") plllog, thank you for telling me to forgive myself. Sometimes that can be the hardest thing for us to do, no? I remember a few years ago a casual acquaintance and I were chatting about how we never, ever heard our parents apologize to us when they were wrong, and how much it would have meant to us to have heard it. Not just because it would have made us feel appreciated but also because it would have been a great model for us in terms of how to behave. Thank you. And I loved your note about my husband relating to spa day! Now there's a brilliant idea. .... polly929, my hero! I am so sorry about the past two years -- hopefully this leap year will signal the start of something good for you. Bless your heart for working in healthcare (what you must see ...) and having no foul-language filter -- love it! socalthreems, I have loved following your kitchen and I am grateful for your nice note. I am with you on the no-smoking! And thank you for suggesting those ground rules. They are superb and have already (because of your suggestion) been passed on to the GC. Also, thank you for your perfect description of "feel[ing] the steam rising." That's it! But it seems like lots of the parents with whom I casually chat 'round here are either big-time prevaricators or Stepford Mommies; they absolutely deny getting frustrated with their kiddos (or occasionally bored with hanging out with toddlers all day long). That's when I wonder what in the hell must be wrong with me to feel this way? Many thanks to you and Francy for telling me I'm not alone. westsider40, from the bottom of my heart I am so sorry about ez (which could not be more apt a description!). I guess it's just easy for me to chalk it up to cultural differences, but I guess some people are just born that way. One silver lining for me is that living with my ez has made me so much stronger, forceful than I ever thought I could be. Because of dealing with his non-presence in many areas I've found a voice (okay, a yelling voice the other day!). I would rather he step up to bat every so often, but I do like the feeling of the empowerment I've developed while living with him. flyleft and mommycooks, thank you for your generous, unconditional support! Such kindness from people I donÂt even know. You and your notes are what should be in one of those MasterCard "Priceless" commercials! And, flyleft, the insurance with which I'm having trouble is ... United! Imagine that. I am so ticked about this, that medical insurance agencies are for-profit entities, and that now many of them are transferring their call centers off-shore, to minimize what they have to pay (US taxes, US salaries, US health care to their workers, etc.)! I guess I may be one of the stupidest people alive because for the life of me I still cannot understand why denying people legitimate, preventive / proactive healthcare is not as good as letting them get sick, suffer and / or die, or making them wait so that the treatment they will require ends up costing the insurance company even more. Seriously, what am I not getting? You all are amazing. IÂll never forget this.