Crossword puzzles, sudokus (hah), a good book, take a nap, go to Borders, go to get a vanilla latte, log on to emusic.com (all too often lately), walk around the garden. I have some many things to do I don't have time to be bored. I need more time to do them! Kathy

That's a beautiful cake, Tracey! I can't cook when I'm bored because about the only time I get bored is at work, and that's not often, but is usually this time of year and in the heat of the summer. That being said, I can't say if I cook when I'm bored or not, cause I'm not sure if that's what leads me to decide to cook or bake something or not. Frequently, I'll start cleaning the kitchen, I mean, really cleaning the kitchen, then, with it so nice and clean, I get motivated to mess it up again, and out comes the cookbooks, flour, sugar and other ingredients for baking. It never fails. And it never fails to really mess up the kitchen, either, lol! Than I have to start all over again. Is that because I'm bored, or in the mood to be busy? I think more the latter. Sally

Hard to say how the dog will react. Mine did not like it at all. He was 6 at the time. He was so insecure thinking we no longer loved him (would not get out of my lap!), that we were replacing him, that he would be cast off that he would have nothing to do with the puppy. It was sad to watch him ignore the new dog and he continued to treat him that way for the next 12 years. He remained alpha which was good, at least he didn't have to fight for that title because the new dog was by nature very passive. It's best to know from whoever has the dog you plan on adopting if they think the dog has an aggressive or passive personality. Our dogs never fought but if the new dog was aggressive then they may have. When my older dog got to the age where he could no longer keep up on walks it became increasingly more difficult for us because we didn't want the older dog to feel the sadness of being slower. It wasn't fair to the younger dog who needed longer walks. As the disparity grew we were forced to take them on separate walks. That took up more time. When our first dog got to be really old we weren't able to go places anymore because he needed to be looked after 24 hrs a day. That went on for a couple years which meant the younger one stayed at home a lot too. I would never have two dogs again so far apart in age. I have to say though, when it was time for our dog to leave us I did find a lot of comfort having another dog...an heir and a spare. ;-) He made the pain a little less severe. Now he's elderly and slowing down. After taking the back seat all those years to a more dominant dog I want him to live out his remaining time feeling like he is finally the most important dog in the world to us. And he's is loving the attention. The difference between my situation and yours is that you have young children and I don't have any. I would be concerned that a 4 yr old would still be too young not to pester your first dog as he ages. Dogs don't like to be bothered when they're older and children might be nipped at if they aren't taught by the parents to respect the elderly dog's space. So maybe having a younger dog to romp around with would be a good idea for your children. They can focus their high energy on the young dog, allowing the other dog to watch but not be expected to participate. But I wouldn't wait any longer.

I have five kids (eldest is almost 12, youngest is almost 2) -- they are fantastic, incredible, wonderful creatures :-) We have four sons and a daughter, and our home is filled with the sounds of giggling and arguing and jumping and running and chitter-chatter. My husband and I go to bed every night thanking one another for the family we have. The first two boys (26 months apart) each arrived 11 weeks preterm (29 weeks' gestation) and required months of hospitalization in the NICU, including multiple surgeries, ambulance rides and long nights of wondering if they'd survive until morning. They finally became healthy little toddlers and I had my tubes tied, thinking there was no way I could bear to bring another baby into a terrifying scenario like that again. Time passed, and the yearning got only stronger for more children...I discovered the source of my obstetric problems (a congential gynecological defect) and underwent a grueling seven-hour surgery to repair my tubes and correct my dysfunctional anatomy. Went on to have three more scrumptious kids and now I have five healthy, gorgeous children. It's exhausting, yes. It sometimes causes a bit of financial juggling (I'm a SAHM). The volume in my house is often very high with clamors for my attention or frustrations among the siblings, but it's nothing compared to the joy of hearing them laugh uncontrollably during an afternoon of goofing off as a family. I don't worry about the teenage years -- we've done our best to lay the groundwork to raise our kids with enormous self-respect and self-esteem. They'll make mistakes, I'm sure of it, but hopefully they'll return to their core values and continue to grow into fine adults. Until then, we have years of baking cookies, chasing the dog around the backyard, monitoring homework and tidying up mountains of Hot Wheels and multi-colored wooden blocks with these sweet, funny little kids we're so lucky to call our own. It's all good. Create the family you want, and then pour your heart and soul into enjoying your blessings. If you already feel sad about *no more babies, ever* and the vasectomy hasn't even happened yet, you're clearly not ready to move on -- you'll know in your heart which path is right for you and your family. Warm regards.