I think that time of day has a lot to do with it. I have noticed that this plant and many cacti as well as succulents such as cyanchum smell the strongest during the hot hours of the day. Other succulents, such as Pachypodium lamerei smell the strongest during the early hours of the evening. Emy

First off hubby is ok, physically... He fell out of bed and cracked his head on the night stand... I fully expected to grab a handful of brains when I helped him up, yes he hit his head that hard... Other than a small bump and being a bit stunned he seemed to be in complete control of all his facilities... I got him an ice pack, helped him dress and escorted him downstairs... He seemed fine... He fixed himself a bowl of cereal, we had a normal conversation ( neither of which has happened in more than 4 years )... Then, out of the blue, he says that since he can't take a nap he was going to watch TV for a while ( !!! )... Within a half hour he said his neck hurt and wanted a pain pill ( hasn't ask for one since he had hip surgery! )... That's when I took him to the hospital. While we were waiting for the results of the MRI hubby became quiet, very quiet... The doctor said there was no sign of another stroke, nothing wrong with his neck, brain, skull or anything in between... Everything was ok... Hubby didn't say a word to the doctor or for the rest of the day... Since then signs of his dementia have intensified, in some ways... Ok, enough on that subject, just wanted to bring everyone up to speed and I had to unload. Now you know why I didn't have the time to truly express my pleasure with my Swap box... Sorry Kate! Before I opened the box I cleared off the little table and got my camera out... I wanted to make sure the batteries were charged and everything was ready to go... Good thing I had my handy little coupon cutter handy, Kate really knows how to tape up a package and make sure nothing could possible shift and get broken... LOL The first thing I opened was the manila envelope with Kate's lovely letter... It's not often that one gets to sit down to read a real letter any more and it was a pure pleasure... She even included a picture of herself and her hubby, ( He kind looks like a young skinny Captain Picard. lol )... I'm still trying to figure out who Kate reminds me of, she does have my Mothers eyes... Oh, I did read the letter twice because I enjoyed it so much. The next thing I spotted was a big plastic envelope thingy.... It's big, it's heavy and there's no chance I'll be able to open it with my bare hands ( lol )... A few moments with the coupon cutter and out comes AnnT's Cookbook!!!. Needless to say I had to take a quick look at the contents... Well, an hour and a half later I figured I better open everything else... LOL I'm totally amazed that you took the time to print out all 200 and some odd pages just for me and on such high quality paper too... I mean, that's more than half a ream of paper and if your printer is anything like mine it probably took a couple sets of ink cartages too... Not to mention laminating the cover and having it bound... Thank you, so very much.. The cookbook alone would have been enough... Well maybe the cookbook and the black licorice... Or maybe the tea towel and some licorice... Or maybe just $30. worth of black licorice... LOL Oops, almost forgot everything else... Loved it all!!! Oh, the gorgeous embroidered tea towel is going to be framed, under glass, and hung in the kitchen... I'm not taking any chance that hubby might use it, nope, no way! Hugs, Rita P.S. Jessica I can't even count the many times I've used the Le Creuset stoneware, for veggies, cheese cake, braded bread. lots of stuff... And any time I need a quick pick me up I go back and reread the post ,'My wonderful surprise!', to relive every joyous moment I received from your special surprise.

Brooklyn Girl, What is the AAARRRGGGHHH!!! for? I seen that you also posted it on the Grandparents board too.I have met a lot of really nice people here at THS and when I found this item I just thought I would past it along to others that might find it helpful. I am NOT selling these, (I only wish I was the one to come up with the idea!!!!) I am just passing it on to others that might like to have one also!!! Cherie

Some people do not have the energy to deal with toddlers. I was with a friend with children the same age as your toddlers, and it is exhausting and all consuming. The two year old kept running to the stairs (even though the child could not do stairs) and the mom kept bringing the child to another area to play, but the child kept trying to go on back to the stairs. When the mom would pick the child up, the child would kick and scream and cry (AKA a major temper tantrum) returning again and again for the stairs. The mom was trying to visit with friends, and have a conversation, and the child made this impossible. At the same time, she was trying to keep and eye on her 3 year old who kept wandering off. Some people just do not enjoy babies and toddlers, and do not feel comfortable being responsible for someone else's toddlers. Friends would take turns watching each others toddler, while the other ran errands. After doing it a few times, it stopped, as the one child would scream for the entire 2 hours. No amount of distraction or toys helped. One of the friends said that the few hour break was not worth the price of having to return the favor and watch a child who cried so much. Toddlers take enormous energy, and you have to focus on them every minute. It is one thing when they are your children. It is another thing entirely when they belong to someone else. Trust her and try not to take it personally. Several years from now (5 or so) if they still leave your children out, then you may want to talk to them. But for now, don't force your toddlers on someone who is not willing. Perhaps you can do somethings with them bringing the toddlers, so that a relationship begins to develop, but you are there to help if your children cry or wander off. At some point, they may feel up to the challenge of an outing with one or both of your young children. This may have "nothing" to do with their step child versus your children, and have everything to do with the fact that some people are uncomfortable with babies and toddlers. Wait and see as your children become more self sufficient (around age 7-8) if they are included. If they are not, then I imagine it will be their loss. Many people simply do not have the energy to enjoy taking such young children out on outings. The others are right in that with the toddlers along, they would be unable to focus on the older grandchild. You yourself must know many parents who cannot even go out to dinner and actually enjoy it with toddlers. The child wants out of the high chair, and then is running around the restaurant, or will not go in the high chair and is crying if made to sit in a high chair. Or one of the parents is walking around outside with the toddler, while the other parent finishes eating., etc. Not a relaxing dinner out by any stretch of the imagination, for anyone. So again, try not to take it personally right now. Respect their discomfort being responsible for someone else's toddlers, and do not try and force them into something they are clearly uncomfortable with.