Unlurking
david m poduska
>On other newsgroups a day is sometimes set aside for lurkers to introduce
>themselves (briefly) to the group. Since we are in the midst of this sad
>discussion on lurking versus regular posting, I thought it would be
>nice to make this a tradition in misc.kids as well. So, I hereby invite
>all lurkers out there to unlurk for a day and let us all hear from you.
>
> <text deleted>
>
>Now, for the date. I propose that the big event "Unlurking Day 1994" take
>place on Monday, June 13th. THis gives all you lurkers time to think
>about what you want to say, and everyone else time to prepare.
>
Might I suggest that June 13th be a day for ALL misc.kidders to introduce or
re-introduce themselves. Many of the newer readers/lurkers/posters/etc only
know the kids of the older ones (by the experiences their parents have
passed down); they do not know much about the parents (other than their
philosophy). Also, what is a lurker? At the moment I would consider myself
a lurker although I do post/e-mail/etc, so by someone else's definition I
am not a lurker. Of course, either way I never did introduce myself :-)
Introduction Preview and cute dog story:
We have a mastiff which are supposed to be protective dog. At one time she
would sleep outside our bedroom door when we were sleeping, but now she sleeps
outside the nursery which is not yet occupied (15 days and counting!). She's
not allowed in any of the bedrooms, so she sleeps with her nose in the
threshold!
Cheers,
Dave
Emma's(?) dad, June 17, 1994(?)
Yvette Torres
mother of a step-son, Adam 13, birth mother of Jacob 5, and Joshua 3. My
husband and I have lived in Houston all of our lives. I have been a
reader of misc.kids since January 1991. I have worked for Baylor College
of Medicine for 11 years. (great job) I manage the financial end of
grants and contracts for our department. Since the birth of my kids- I
have convinced my Chairman to let me work from home alot. I usually only
come into the office two days a week, therefore I do not have time to post
to misc.kids in a timely fashion (that is the reason I lurk).
Of course my "guys" are great. Adam lives with us and attends a private
school due to HISD poor middle schools. He like basketball, golfing and
computer stuff. Jacob loves dinosaurs, Native American stuff and being
outside. Joshua loves to talk, talk, and to talk. They are great guys
and I am really happy with the way our family is turning out.
I have received some great advice from misc.kids and lots of great ideas.
I especially enjoy posts from Judy, Tigger, Paula and of course Deantha!
I'll try to be a more active participant in the future.
ytorres
mama to a/j/j
reader since 1991
.
mp...@gte.com
themselves (briefly) to the group. Since we are in the midst of this sad
discussion on lurking versus regular posting, I thought it would be
nice to make this a tradition in misc.kids as well. So, I hereby invite
all lurkers out there to unlurk for a day and let us all hear from you.
Because this is such a high traffic group, and not everyone will be interested
in reading these posts, I have some suggestions as to how we can handle this.
First, use the subject "Unlurking" in the subject area so people can add this
to their kill files.
Second, keep your introductions as brief as possible. A couple of paragraphs
(similar to the photoalbum blurb idea) is great. Include who you are,
what you do, what city you live in, your kids names and ages, and perhaps
a couple of short CTTD.
FOr those that don't know how to post, send your blurb to:
Now, for the date. I propose that the big event "Unlurking Day 1994" take
place on Monday, June 13th. THis gives all you lurkers time to think
about what you want to say, and everyone else time to prepare.
I can't wait to read all your posts. I think there are a lot of really
interesting people out there, and I bet you might find someone who lives
or works right near you.
So, see all you lurkers on June 13th, 1994.
Marjorie
mum to Gemma and Graham Topaz 8/24/92
Jane Medefesser
> In article <940602144...@bunny.gte.com> mp...@gte.com writes:
> >On other newsgroups a day is sometimes set aside for lurkers to introduce
> >themselves (briefly) to the group. Since we are in the midst of this sad
> >discussion on lurking versus regular posting, I thought it would be
> >nice to make this a tradition in misc.kids as well. So, I hereby invite
> >all lurkers out there to unlurk for a day and let us all hear from you.
> Might I suggest that June 13th be a day for ALL misc.kidders to introduce or
> re-introduce themselves. Many of the newer readers/lurkers/posters/etc only
> know the kids of the older ones (by the experiences their parents have
> passed down); they do not know much about the parents (other than their
> philosophy). Also, what is a lurker? At the moment I would consider myself
> a lurker although I do post/e-mail/etc, so by someone else's definition I
> am not a lurker. Of course, either way I never did introduce myself :-)
>
*I think this is a real cool idea! Why don't we all do this, and include the
string "INTRO" in the subject header, so those who don't want to read all
this bandwidth can add it to their kill files ahead of time.
I haven't been following this thread *too* close (long LONG weekend :-) ) but
I sort of got the jist of it. This newsgroup can be either a cosey place among
friends or very hostile, depending on your point of view and the discussion you
chose as your first venture in---- I can understand why lurkers hesitate to post.
It's a little scarry.
---
Jane Medefesser
Sun Microsystems / Sun Pics
jane.me...@Sun.Com
Grace P. Chan
called de-lurking, just like starships de-cloaking (for all you Star Trek fans
out there!)
:)
Grace
--
Grace P.Chan
Department of Linguistics and mom to Jessica Tien-yan McKibben
University of Chicago 10 months and walking!!
gp...@midway.uchicago.edu
Valdez Kelly
months. I love to read all of the information and helpful insights out
there. I am new to Internet, I just started a job in January. I am
the assistant on an Internet project for rural teachers. This is through
the Boulder Valley School District in Boulder, Colorado. My husband works
nights so he is a stay at home dad (lucky guy!) and stays at home with our
daughter Jalen who is now 9 months old. She is an incredible kid (who is
not yet crawling), just like all the other misc.kids kid's out there. She
has become quite animated in the past few weeks, especially now that she
can be outdoors more.
One CTTD, last Monday in Boulder we have a 10K race called the Bolder
Boulder. My husband, Tom and I put Jalen in her backpack and took her
down to the finish line, (which is in the CU Buffaloes stadium). As we
were walking down to the stadium, we live very close by, Jalen waved to
every one. I was laughing the whole way. She thought that it was funny
that she could make Mommy laugh so she laughed and waved the whole walk. :)
Thanks for everything misc.kids. Hopefully I will be better about posting
and not just lurking. I do wish I had gotten in on the photoalbum though.
Maybe next year! :)
Kelly
--
''''''
0 0
|---------------------------------o00o-----U----o00o-------------------|
| Kelly Valdez Keep hanging in there, all things change |
Buffy Hyler
>In article 2sl4p5...@gecko.cis.ohio-state.edu, pod...@cis.ohio-state.edu (david m poduska) writes:
>> In article <940602144...@bunny.gte.com> mp...@gte.com writes:
>> >On other newsgroups a day is sometimes set aside for lurkers to introduce
>> >themselves (briefly) to the group. Since we are in the midst of this sad
>> >discussion on lurking versus regular posting, I thought it would be
>> >nice to make this a tradition in misc.kids as well. So, I hereby invite
>> >all lurkers out there to unlurk for a day and let us all hear from you.
>
>> Might I suggest that June 13th be a day for ALL misc.kidders to introduce or
>> re-introduce themselves. Many of the newer readers/lurkers/posters/etc only
>> know the kids of the older ones (by the experiences their parents have
>> passed down); they do not know much about the parents (other than their
>> philosophy). Also, what is a lurker? At the moment I would consider myself
>> a lurker although I do post/e-mail/etc, so by someone else's definition I
>> am not a lurker. Of course, either way I never did introduce myself :-)
>>
>
>
>
>*I think this is a real cool idea! Why don't we all do this, and include the
>string "INTRO" in the subject header, so those who don't want to read all
>this bandwidth can add it to their kill files ahead of time.
Add my vote. But I wouldn't limit it to a single day. Netnews being
what it is, some folks won't see the above postings for 2 weeks based
on their net feed and reading habits. I would say to *start* it off
June 13th and then as people understand the purpose, just join in on
the fun. It will eventually trickle out on its own as we each post our
intro (hmmm, did I see 70,000 as the number of readers of misc.kids
somewhere...:-) The subject string is a great idea and I suspect will
catch on once people see it used.
---
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Buffy Hyler (hy...@ast.saic.com) Mom to David, 7 years old
SAIC, Campus Point Photoalbum '94 Page 76
San Diego, California Misc.Kids Reader from 1987
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Christa Heuser
My name is Christa Heuser, I'm 22 years old, work in desktop publishing,
and I don't have kids. I read misc.kids for a few reasons:
-Even though I don't have kids now, I expect I will someday, and I'm
sort of getting used to the idea.
-I work in an educational setting; I have strong opinions about
education and always like to read the threads about schools. (The few
times I've posted, it's usually been on some school-related topic.)
-It wasn't so long ago I was a kid, and I occasionally answer some
questions about teenagers and young adults.
-As an adult living with my parents (financial circumstances require it),
I like to read stuff from parents to sort of "see how the other half lives."
-The CTTS/CTTD threads really brighten my day. :-)
Regards,
Christa Heuser
chri...@oz.plymouth.edu
Lorinda Brandon
Good idea, Marjorie! I also like the idea of us babblers shutting
up for a while so other people have a chance to talk. I am putting
myself on a restricted post basis and will only respond in email
for a while. That way we can hear from other people who aren't
quite as quick to the keyboard...
Lorinda
Judy Bonander
University - Fresno. What that translates to is computer training and
software support for the faculty and staff. Under duress, I've been
known to play hardware person if the cries become too desparate.
I've posted a few times, but probably fit into the lurker category.
I'm a mother of three daughters and grandma to nine - ages 2 - 15.
With a family like that, you know I've got to be interested in kids
and love hearing about them and what is going on with young parents.
I haven't posted very often because I've sometimes felt it's an
intrusion on my part. I'm not convinced young people want the advice
of someone obviously from the previous generation. In the in-law/parent
discussions, I'm generally looking at it from the other side. I'm also
that little old lady in the checkout line who is making you paranoid
by flirting with your darling little child. I don't mean to make you
paranoid. Is it my fault your kid is so cute and is flirting with me?
I enjoy the group and it helps me understand where my own kids are
coming from.
Regards,
ML McAnally
Judy Bonander <ju...@zimmer.CSUFresno.EDU> wrote:
>I haven't posted very often because I've sometimes felt it's an
>intrusion on my part. I'm not convinced young people want the advice
>of someone obviously from the previous generation.
WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. in this day and age so many of us
are so geographically far flung from the previous generation, we
need to hear a voice like yours. i want to read your opinions,
and hear of your experiences. being disconnected from my elders
is rotten for me as a parent.
> In the in-law/parent
>discussions, I'm generally looking at it from the other side. >
Great, i'm all for a balanced discussion.
Chime in, Judy. i'll look for your posts!
Mary Lea
Cynthia Kandolf
>In article <CquCz...@zimmer.CSUFresno.EDU>,
>Judy Bonander <ju...@zimmer.CSUFresno.EDU> wrote:
>
>>I haven't posted very often because I've sometimes felt it's an
>>intrusion on my part. I'm not convinced young people want the advice
>>of someone obviously from the previous generation.
>
>WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. in this day and age so many of us
>are so geographically far flung from the previous generation, we
>need to hear a voice like yours. i want to read your opinions,
>and hear of your experiences. being disconnected from my elders
>is rotten for me as a parent.
I second that! Judy, the worst that can happen is that we'll all
ignore you 8-). I think it's good to hear from people who have a
different perspective, who have seen their children through the whole
course of childhood. Another viewpoint has never been known to ruin a
discussion.
-Cindy Kandolf Provider of food, cuddles, and smiles to Kenneth
ci...@lise.unit.no (born 12 Feb 1994); completely besotted aunt to
Trondheim, Norway Jonathan, Anders, Tomas, Joshua, Linnea, Ole,
Michael, and Eirik
Anita Lees
Since I post fewer than ten times a year, I guess I am a lurker --
although I don't really think of myself that way. I have been
subscribing to misc.kids for almost 5 years now. I do tend to
hang back when I don't think I have anything to add. I used to
post and email more, but there is so much traffic that I don't
check in regularly, and I lose parts of threads. I also do not
want to increase the traffic with me-too posts. Usually by the
time I see an original article, it has been replied to by several
people, many of whom said what I would have (probably better, too).
I have a daughter, Morgan (9/21/89), and a son, Dylan (3/21/92).
My husband John and I are homeschooling them. I spend some of my
news time keeping up with the hom...@world.std.com mailing list.
I would second the request to keep the Photo Album in a mailing
list. That would weed out people like me, who can never rely on
replying by some deadline and have a low volume of posting (too low?)
anyway.
Misc.kids is a real source of ideas, advice and consolation for me.
I hope the rare posts I have made in the past have amused or helped
others even half as much.
Anita Lees
--
Anita F. Lees (le...@cps.msu.edu)
Victoria Crawford 312 329-3630
may be the most senior lurker yet; I've been reading
misc.kids for something like seven? eight? years. (How
long has misc.kids been here, anyway?)
Why lurk? Well, I don't have kids and often feel I
should just keep my mouth shut since I haven't "been
there" as a parent. But I find kids endlessly entertaining
and this group to be informative and interesting. I hope
to have kids within a few years, and I am in line as the
potential guardian of three children: my niece (ten months)
and the two children of friends (almost-six and fourteen).
This group is a remarkable resource. When my sister was
expecting, I often shocked her with all the misc.kids-gleaned
information that I had. She doesn't really understand the net
and believes I have some sort of mystical understanding of
pregnancy and babies ;-) And I'll never forget the great
response I got from you all when I posted in a panic earlier
this year about guardianship arrangements for my friends' kids.
You guys are great! Let's ignore the flame wars (I always do)
and enjoy this incredible luxury, our net.community. A Big THANK
YOU, too, to all the "regulars" who have posted defenses of
us lurkers.
Victoria
obj.example.of.why.someone.would.lurk.in.a.newsgroup.x.years:
The small kid who farted and then exclaimed,
"Dad, my butt sneezed!"
Judy Tyrer
Judy Bonander <ju...@zimmer.CSUFresno.EDU> wrote:
>
>I haven't posted very often because I've sometimes felt it's an
>intrusion on my part. I'm not convinced young people want the advice
>of someone obviously from the previous generation.
I do! Really!!!! I NEED advice from parents who have made it "all the way
through". I think that until you've seen a child through toddlerhood and
teens and on into adulthood it's all theory. Yeah, I can post on what made
my kids finally stop throwing tantrums (have they stopped?) but whether the
subsequent "clamping down on unacceptable behavior" means I will have a less
rebellious or more rebellious teen is still vaporware, so to speak.
Please, POST! Post often! We NEED you!
--
Judy Leedom Tyrer
"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
- George Eliot
jac...@dmpe.csiro.au
themselves, I'll use the opportunity to "unlurk" as
well.
My name is Wendy Jacobs, I am 29 years old, work as
a secretary at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation and live (and work) in a suburb
of Melbourne, Australia. I've been reading misc.kids
for about 6 months (since my husband and I decided it
might be about time to start thinking about kids!) and
I'm currently about 14 weeks pregnant. Means we should
be fully fledged parents by Christmas.
I'd like to contribute a CTTS or CTTD (cause they rarely
seem to get flamed) but for now the kid just kind of
floats there. Still, we thought it was pretty cute
when we saw it on the ultrasound 8-).
Hope to be posting and talking to more of you soon.
Wendy Jacobs
Bob Laurent
I started reading almost 2 years ago when my girlfriend moved out
to California from Baltimore. She has 2 daughters, one who is now
5 who we have almost all the time and one who is 10 who we have
for the summer (she arrives this sunday -- yeah!) and school holidays
and occasional weekend (she racks up the frequent flyer miles!).
Since I started with not really much clue how to deal with kids,
this group has been quite useful. I've posted a couple of questions
and a couple replies, but mostly just read for information.
Bob Laurent
Oakland, California
Pamela Walden
kazillion lurkers unlurking on the 13th.
Actually, I'm not sure I'm an "official" lurker because I have posted out here
a few times since I started using Internet about six months ago. However, I
haven't formally introduced myself so here goes:
My name is Pam Walden and I work at Illinois State University as a Coordinator,
Microcomputer Laboratories. Translation: LAN Manager. I am 28 years old and
my husband Jeff will be 30 this August. He is self-employed in the
maintenance/remodeling business. We have one absolutely beautiful son, Michael
Brandon (Mikey) who has *the* longest eyelashes on any kid or adult I have ever
seen...except for my Dad, that must be where he got them from.
Mikey attends an in-home daycare and absolutely loves it. His provider is
wonderful. He has been there since he was seven weeks old.
I am SO BUMMED that I don't have a photoalbum! I want to see what you all look
like. I feel as if I know many of you after reading for only a few months.
That should give you a pretty good idea how much time I spend reading this
group! Obviously, I plan to participate in the next one.
I think this group is absolutely wonderful and I look forward to sharing
information with everyone. Keep those CTTS and CTTD coming...they're a riot.
I'm sure I'll be adding some of my own, too.
--
--
Pam Walden (Mom-Mom to Mikey 5/3/93)
Joanne Kuta
a year or so, although I usually only post when I have a question. When I
have a reply, I generally use direct e-mail to the poster. I'm not quite
comfortable giving my opinions to thousands of people at one time. ;-)
I'm the mother of two boys, Anthony (11/12/90) and Patrick/Pj (11/4/93). My
husband and I are both employed in the Information Systems and Communications
Center (aka computer center) at Indiana University of PA in Indiana, PA.
Both boys are in a family day-care home with a great caregiver and several
other wonderful kids. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't stop and
count our many blessings...including access to misc.kids!
Joanne Kuta
jgk...@grove.iup.edu
Marjorie Peskin
MONDAY JUNE 13 IS OFFICIAL UNLURKING DAY!!!
If you are a lurker, or a infrequent poster, today is the day to let
the world of misc.kids readers know all about you.
If you are a regular poster, you can join in by introducing yourselves
and your families.
By following a few short guidelines we can make this a really fun day.
1 Be sure to use the word Unlurking in your subject. If you are
going to followup this post, just press "F" and don't include this post.
If you are using Pnews, or a news email gateway, be sure to use only the
word Unlurking in your subject, with only the "U" capitalized.
2 Be brief, but informative. Tell us your name, what you do, how
many kids/spouses/SO's/pets your have and something about them, mention
how long you have been reading misc.kids and/or the net, and if you can,
include a CTTD (cute things they do).
3 Let us know if you plan to continue as a lurker or infrequent
poster, or if you plan to post lots and lots once you got up the nerve.
:-)
That's all I can think of, so let the posting begin!
Marjorie
--
Marjorie Peskin (formerly m...@world.std.com)
Mum to Graham and Gemma Topaz, 8/24/92
---Toddlers: Can't live with 'em...
Can't convince them what *NO* means!
Schuyler Stillman Burkhart
I am not yet a parent, nor am I even married. I simply have a great love for
children. I am an senior in electrical engineering at the University of
Washington, 22yo, Christian, male, and a lurker for approximately 6 months.
You have many insightful things to say. I love the sharing you all do.
Someday, I hope to join in for REAL!
One CTTS: One little boy I know, when he gets a sneaky idea, will suggest:
"You just lie down and take a nap, and I'll be back in a few whiles..." :)
Schuyler
Cindy...@transarc.com
My name is Cindy Bloch, and I and my husband, Josh, have one
incredibly adorable, big (24 in. and 15.5 lbs), 2.5 month old named
Timmy. I've lurked in this group since I got pregnant almost a year
ago, though I've been reading news for about 10 years. (I'll probably
stay a lurker.)
A CTTD: yesterday the three of us went to the diner for
breakfast, as we do every Sunday. Well, Timmy slept most of the time,
but when he woke up I hung a chain of some of those First Years
fishies from the carseat handle so they dangled a little to the right
of his face. He got the most incredible look of concentration on his
face as, for the first time, he batted them and watched them swing!
It was so adorable. I think you probably had to be there. :-)
Cindy
slepian
My name is Carina and I live in Virginia or the Washington DC area and I am a
36 yr old mother to Zoe who just turned ONE (!big event!) last 5-24.
Misc.Kids is a wealth of information particularly for a first-time mom like
myself and not having enough friends and relatives in a generally transient
neighborhood.-everyone's busy, busy, busy! I work in a workaholic
environment and so balancing parenthood and worklife can be tricky.
I probably am a lurker since I dont post regularly; my work schedule does not
permit that much time and I only have access to Misc.kids from my MAC at work
and with daycare hours, I end up accessing this newsgroup in very limited
ways. It has been an invaluable support group for me. I have posted a few
times and it is *SO* wonderful to hear from strangers (and not really) on
questions like those on my daughter's blocked tear duct and starting solids.
I'm not sure what CTTD is but I assume it has something to so with sharing
something about what's happening to me as a mom or to my baby (toddler, I
should say since she is one!) : )
Well, Zoe seems to have declared herself a "big girl now" since 2 days before
her birthday, she suddenly refused to be fed by anybody or take anything
mushy. (Yes, the messy part has begun!) She insists on feeding herself with
finger foods and occasionally handles the spoon quite well (although a few
times it ended up on her left ear). And another new habit she has is that
after she drinks anything, she will open her mouth and say "AHHhhhhhh" (long
pause and then squints her eyes) --just as if she had a sip of cold beer on a
hot summer day!
Again, thanks for being such a great newsgroup! (P.S. How do I join the next
photoalbum?)
ANNS...@maine.maine.edu
wonderful man, and we have two children. Courtney J. who is 4.75 yrs
and Heather Marie who is 8 months old today. I have been reading/
posting/emailing for about 2 years, give or take a few months.
I work at the University of Maine in Orono, and live in a small
town outside of Orono. I am a secretary for Adult Education and
I am also in my junior year studying Child Development/Family
relations.
I have enjoyed reading this group. It has been wonderful.
I have used many ideas and advise which has been very helpful.
I believe the moto (sp?) "Take what you need and leave the rest"
It has been very useful during the flame wars especially with
the family bed issue. From reading the Unlurker posts, I have
found that many people feel as I do, that information already
posted is what I would have said, so, I don't necessary need
to post. I find that I read and e-mail the most.
CTTD - When Courtney was about 2 yrs; it was during the fall.
David and I could see her coming toward us all excited.
She kept saying she say a bunny go behind the refrigerator.
We couldn't imagine what she was talking about. After
a few minutes, we saw her bunny, it was a small mouse
with big ears.
I enjoy posting, but I find that I learn more when I listen
or in this case read, than I do when my mouth is running
all of the time. My goal, I guess is to make some new
friends, and be able to share experiences. I came to
the right place.
Sorry so long.
Ann Soule
Ruth Karras
introduced myself. My name is Ruth Karras, I'm a medieval historian at
Temple University. My children are Nicola (Nicki), age 6 1/2, just
finishing up kindergarten, and Elena (Laney), just turned 1. My husband,
Chris Karras, is a lawyer. Our household also includes Bracton, an
Australian Shepherd, and on weekdays Tessie, a babysitter. During the
past year our schedule was such that we had to have a sitter at home (I
couldn't guarantee being able to pick Laney up at day care or Nicki at
after-school program by 5:30). Now, however, I am looking for a day care
that will take infants or toddlers part time, several days a week. Tessie
wouldn't mind working fewer hours and I think it would do Laney good to be
in a group situation part of the time--in our experience it worked very
well for Nicki. Laney is still nursing twice a day but is eating a lot of
all kinds of solid food and drinking whole milk, by September I expect
she'll wean herself easily. We live in Philadelphia, used to live right
in town and have just moved to Chestnut Hill (technically in the city, but
more suburban in atmosphere), to a bigger house with a yard, and spent the
weekend building a swingset (not assembling, building--starting with
sawing the lumber).
Ruth Karras
rka...@astro.ocis.temple.edu
Kathy Nicklas-Varraso
I'm Kathy Nicklas-Varraso, I'm 31 years old, and I have one daughter,
Amanda Rose Varraso, who was born on 12/10/89. I run a small desktop
publishing service from my home, which is near Boston, Massachusetts.
Lately, I've been involved in the misc.kids Photoalbum, and I am
pretty knowledgeable about allergies and asthma in children and adults.
Geez, I don't know what to say; maybe I'm even more boring than I
thought!
Kathy
Kim Winz
pregnant with my first, a little unsure of how I'll do, and I've found
it very helpful to read all the talk about birth and baby care. It's
given me a better idea of what to expect, and what sounds like some
good advice - I guess I'll find out how good it really is in a few
months! :-)
I'm 27 and a programmer, my husband Pete is 32 and a technical editor.
We live in Durham, NC with our two cats, and a collection of science
fiction books that's threatening to take over the whole house. I'm
planning to take a year off work to stay home with the baby, so I'll
probably become more active on the group in a few months. Right now,
I don't always have time to keep up.
Kim Winz
(Mom to ????, -20 weeks and counting)
If replying by email, use: kw...@ralvm5.vnet.ibm.com
Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer
Kate Dudding
introduced myself, and Marjorie told me to ;-), here goes:
My name is Kate Dudding, I'm a computer scientist married 22 years, more than
half my life, to an analytical chemist. He comes up with the bright ideas
("Let's climb a mountain this weekend.") and I supply the organizational skills
("Ah, maybe we should get a book and ask around for easy mountains to climb and
what supplies we need to take and necessary foot gear and ...) As a team, we're
normal, alone he'd just do and not plan, and I'd just plan and not do... Life
became easier when I clearly identified our different styles. Our son Mark
will be nine (!) this week - he loves rocks, being read to, Nerf & super soaker
weapons, crafts, soccer, inventing and us!
I guess I've been reading misc.kids for about 5 years, but since I can't remember
when I got my Sun workstation AND I can't remember when I subsequently started
reading news, I am clueless (as normal, it is Monday morning...)
CTweD: we wave goodbye alternately signing "I love you" (start with a closed
fist, then stick up/out your thumb, forefinger and your smallest finger), and
thumbs up (meaning good job/good luck/I think you're special).
--
Kate Dudding dud...@crd.ge.com
GE Corporate Research and Development
Bldg. KW, Room C315
PO Box 8, Schenectady, NY 12301 (518) 387-7164
Jennifer Joplin
>Heaven knows I'm not really a lurker, but I don't post a lot, by any means.
>
>I'm Kathy Nicklas-Varraso, I'm 31 years old, and I have one daughter,
>Amanda Rose Varraso, who was born on 12/10/89. I run a small desktop
>publishing service from my home, which is near Boston, Massachusetts.
>
>
>Kathy
>
I am not really a lurker either, but I will introduce myself to you Kathy
and to all the others.
My name is Jennifer Joplin, I am 27 years old, and I work as a data
processor for a social science data archive at the University of Michigan.
My husband John (landscape architect) and I have one son, CJ, who is 8
months old. We are actually considering having a second one, and soon!
Someone please reassure me about the following:
1. Episiotomies don't hurt as much or as long the second time around
2. Not-quite-two-year-olds can be moved out of the crib and into the
twin bed successfully
3. There is enough energy to incubate #2 while chasing #1
4. Life goes on, money stretches, time expands, and love grows enough
to sustain the larger family
I love this newsgroup!
Jennifer
Beth Weiss
>Heaven knows I'm not really a lurker, but I don't post a lot, by any means.
>
>I'm Kathy Nicklas-Varraso, I'm 31 years old, and I have one daughter,
>Amanda Rose Varraso, who was born on 12/10/89. I run a small desktop
>publishing service from my home, which is near Boston, Massachusetts.
>
>Lately, I've been involved in the misc.kids Photoalbum,
In this case, "involved" means "INVOLVED". Kathy was in charge of:
copying the black and white pages
organizing (co-organizing?) the pasting of the pages
collating
mailing
Without her, the book would still be in production!!! Way to go,
Kathy!!!! yeah Kathy!!!
> and I am
>pretty knowledgeable about allergies and asthma in children and adults.
>Geez, I don't know what to say; maybe I'm even more boring than I
>thought!
She has a good-looking brother who is an electrician :-)
Daniel P. Faigin
Well, as today is the day, I might as well introduce myself.
I'm Daniel Faigin, and I'm relatively new to misc.kids (although not to the
net). I began reading misc.kids actively as soon as my wife and I started
trying actively to increase the size of our family (although I had read it
sporadically before). Our first is currently expected in mid-November. My wife
also reads misc.kids, but I'll let her unlurk on her own. We're going through
the usual concerns of a pregnancy, ranging from getting the house ready to all
of the medical crazyness.
I have been active on the net since around 1984, when misc.kids was still
net.kids. I am most active in soc.culture.jewish, where I conduct the
bi-annual s.c.j survey, maintain and post the 21-part s.c.j FAQ and reading
lists, and operate the 460+ member mail.liberal-judaism mailing list. I have
become active on misc.kids, primarily in the area of the eventual regular
posting of the FAQs to misc.kids.info to increase their use and easy
availability. As I have said before, I'm willing to help any FAQ maintainer on
misc.kids help format their FAQ for eventual periodic posting.
I've begun to think this FAQ organizational effort here is a manifestation of
nesting :-).
In terms of what I do, I work at The Aerospace Corporation in the field of
Computer Security, evaluating trusted systems for the National Computer
Security Center. I'm social action chair at Kol Tikvah, a Reform congregation
in Woodland Hills. I'm also active (when time allows) in the Orange Empire
Railway Museum, the largest operating Railway museum on the West Coast, where
the Red Cars (Pacific Electric) and Yellow Cars (Los Angeles Railway) still
run. I'm a student of Los Angeles History, especially highway numbering. I'm
active in the Association for Computing Machinery, and am a past chair of the
Los Angeles Chapter, as well as the current chair of the ACM Special Interest
Group on Security, Audit, and Control. How much volunteer time I'll have
after November 15th remains to be seen :-)
Daniel
--
[W]: The Aerospace Corp. M1/055 * POB 92957 * LA, CA 90009-2957 * 310/336-8228
[Email]:fai...@aero.org, fai...@acm.org [Vmail]:310/336-5454 Box#68228
Seen on the net: "I always thought that 'Intel Inside' was a warning required
by Truth in Advertising laws..."
Zoann Branstine
My name is Zoann Branstine. My husband, Jude Shavlik, and I have one
2-yr.-old cocker spaniel ("Wilma Girl") and one overdue, eagerly awaited
baby. I'd hoped to be able to introduce him/her by now also, but no luck!!!
Jude is 36 and an assoc. prof. in the Computer Sciences dept. here at the
U of Wisconsin in Madison. I work part time for the same department,
writing a newsletter and handling all communication with the department's
new alumni group. Oops, forgot to include my age; I'm 32.
I've been reading misc.kids for 1-2 months and have learned so much!
I don't know if I'll become a "frequent" poster; just to READ all the
interesting articles takes so much time... but being far from my family
(they are in a remote corner of Kansas) and new to all this baby stuff
(though I still have the illusion that I may have learned SOMETHING
by "raising" my baby-dog :)) I am sure I will have many questions.
BY THE WAY, the baby finally "dropped" last Friday and for the life
of me, I can't figure out why this is referred to as "lightening." I
thought I couldn't feel heavier than I did, but since Friday, I can
barely lug my belly up the stairs.
Zoann
Cheryl Gillespie
jump in. I have been lurking for about 2.5 years. As someone
else mentioned I started when my "baby hunger" kicked in (but
my husband's hadn't at that time). I have only posted twice
and only just recently.
Anyway, I am almost 29 and the mother of a beautiful ~ 20 lb
7 month (11/15/93) old girl. I find I have to add that she
was 9 1b 12 oz at birth (it just amazed me!!). Anyway, I
am working full-time at a job that due to financial reasons
I have been unable to leave. I received my Master of Social
Work last year and have yet to enter the field (read "frustrated").
I find myself feeling very torn over wanting to be with my
daughter more, yet needing to spend some time out of the
house (preferably as a therapist). My husband, Ivan, (32 y.o.) and I
are working on the possibility of my working part-time
(as soon as finances allow). He also works full-time. My family
helps out as far a daycare goes. Danika spends part of the week
with my father and part with my sister (or mother as back-up).
So, we are very lucky in that respect.
I really enjoy my daughter. She is truly a precious little person.
(sorry....couldn't resist!)
Well....that is it for me for now. Nice to meet you all!
---
==Cheryl Gillespie (Mom to Danika the Wonderful 11/15/93)
Carrie Vertido
My name is Carrie Vertido. My husband, John, and I have one daughter,
Amanda Rose, who is 14 months old. I am system's analyst. My husband
is an in-home pediatric nurse.
I have been reading Misc.Kids for about 2 1/2 years now. I have only
posted a few times about increasing my pumping productivity and finding
some food that my then four month old daughter could safely suck on. I
think there were a couple more but I can't remember them now. My
company discourages sending personal messages, so I will continue to
mostly lurk, unless I have some more pressing needs. I have gotten some
great ideas and insights from all of you. I am very grateful for that.
My CTTS happened this morning. My daughter said "I love you" for the
first time. It came out more like "wuv ya". It just melted my heart.
Thanks Again,
Carrie Vertido - Mama to Amanda Rose
Andrew Siegel
Robin. I've been on USENET since 1983, moving from soc.singles to
soc.couples to misc.kids and misc.consumer.house as I've "grown up"
:-) I've been reading misc.kids for about 3 years, and it has been my
#1 child-rearing information resource. You couldn't pay for better
advice.
I'm a computer scientist at D. E. Shaw & Co., a Wall Street hedge
fund, and before that, I worked at NBC, where among other things I was
the developer of the "Ten Minute Ticker" scoring software for the "NFL
Live" show. Robin is currently a stay-at-home mom, but before me and
the baby she was a TV News Producer with KVUE in Austin and WRTV in
Indianapolis.
I grew up in New York City, and Robin grew up in Dallas, and we now
live in Stamford, CT with our cat, Chatty. I love the outdoors,
hiking, camping, walking, etc, and appropriately, I maintain the Baby
Carrier and Backpack FAQ file for misc.kids. (BTW, I'm always looking
for hiking partners in the Connecticut/Westchester area.) My other
interests are ham radio (call N2CN), history, "industrial archeology",
and fixing up our house (domestic archeology?).
We think Adam is the cutest thing on two legs, and he has an equally
biased opinion of us. He knows all the letters of the alphabet and
can count to 20 -- such a genius! :-) He loves reading books and
going bye-bye.
I'm going to continue my current level of infrequent posting, but
I'll be here nonetheless. (I've always wanted to use "nonetheless" in
a sentence.)
--
Andrew Siegel sie...@deshaw.com D. E. Shaw & Co., New York, NY
Donna McNamara
to ask. I answer via e-mail almost always. I kill threads that
get long and controversial. I read misc.kids for the wonderful info and
help, but find I don't have time for long discussions.
I'm 35 and live in Upper Marlboro MD (any misc-kidders nearby). I was an
Air Force meteorologist for 10 years, and now work as a scientific
programmer at NASA. I have a wonderful boss and therefore a great
work arrangement. My husband Brien is in the Air Force for one more year,
then hopes to become a teacher.
We have 3 kids. The girls were the perfect family, but I got itchy for
another baby. So, before we really thought things through along came
Kevin. He's a joy!!! Still I'm going through the challenges of giving
the girls the attention they need and the demands of a little baby.
Katie and Jenny go to a French Immersion magnet school. I'm still
nursing. Kevin doesn't sleep through the night. So those recent
threads have been very helpful.
Now back to work.
Donna
mom to Katie (feb86), Jenny (nov88) and Kevin (dec93)
Gary Jarkewicz
Hi,
I have been following this group for about a year now and enjoy it
quite a bit. I haven't had much to add to the discussions to date
which explains my being a 'lurker'. I am a dad to three (!) young
boys:
James (3/31/88)
Thomas (1/9/90)
Matthew (11/29/93)
James is the intellectual of the group (at least so far). Thomas
is into some sports and is 'all boy'. Matthew is probably the happiest
baby I have seen. All three are real different so what works for
one child doesn't always apply to the others. James starts first grade
next year. Thomas and James have both gone to the local Montessori
school for pre-school and kindergarten (Thomas starts in another year
from now). Matthew will start there when he is eighteen months if
my parents don't fight too much to keep him. (My parents have watched
all three until they were ready for pre-school.) The Montessori program
here has been great for them.
I was at the birth of the two oldest boys but was flat on my back
in a different hospital for Matthew. I had back surgery (two ruptured
disks) the day after he was born. I was planning on posting about
his birth but I was out for five weeks after my surgery. At least
I got to be home for the first month after Matthew was born, but I
couldn't help out much I could hold him but not pick him (or anything
else) up.
I work at Picker International writing software for Nuclear Medicine
equipment. My wife Maita is a Family Practice physician with her
own practice.
That's all for now. I will try to post and get more involved as
things go on. I have enjoyed this group a lot, especially the YKYAPW
section.
Gary Jarkewicz
Steve Will
Like so many others, I suppose I qualify as a "lurker" even though I have posted a few
times and have responded to a few questions via e-mail.
I'm a programmer at IBM, and only have access through work, so am not able to follow or
post as much as many of you seem to be. Maybe someday I'll get access from home.
My wife, Sherry, is a Stay-At-Home mom (which is a strange name for it since she seems
to be away from the house quite frequently these days!). We have four kids -- Adam is
10, Lucas is 8.5, Sarah will be 7 in less than two weeks, and Leah is 3.25.
Sherry and I just spent a weekend without the kids (our 12th anniversary was 6/12, and
my parents took care of the kids). When they returned, all of them seemed so much
bigger (in just two days!) -- but especially Leah, the youngest. Unfortunately, Leah
came down with chicken pox last night -- and today is the first day of Vacation Bible
School at church. This would have been Leah's first year in it, so today Sherry had
her call me and chat a bit. She sounds so mature: "Daddy, I can't go to Bible school,
and I'm so disappointed." I love being a father!
--
Steve Will (stwill@rchland or stev...@vnet.ibm.com)
Lorinda Brandon
introduced myself either. :)
I'm Lorinda Brandon, 35, technical writer at Interleaf near Boston.
I am the very happy and proud mother of 2 boys, Ben (2.5) and
Spencer (8 MO). We live in a small town in northern Mass. with
my hubby, who manages a doc department for a local hardware company.
I've been reading misc.kids for about 1.5 years and posting
for about a year now. I have made some good friends through
misc.kids and, after I started posting, I discovered some
of my personal friends were also misc.kids lurkers (hi to
all of you!).
Well, I think my shiny new .sig says it all, don't you?
--
____________________________________
Lorinda, page 15
Mom to Ben 11/13/91 and Spencer 10/11/93
Misc.kidding since 3/93
KUST...@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu
before..
My name's Linda, I'm 29 and currently 30 weeks pregnant with my first
child ("muffin" for now). This pregnancy thing seems fairly easy so far
except that I've got gestational diabetes (a belated thanks to those who
responded to my earlier post on GD) and am on insulin to control it.
Because of the GD my OB wants this baby out around week 38 (which means
and induction most likely) so the recent posts on avoiding induction have
been of much interest needless to say..
In addition to enjoying this pregnancy, and my near daily habit of reading
misc.kids..I am trying to finish writing my dissertation proposal (I'm a
grad student in Developmental Psychology at Vanderbilt University).. not an
easy task when you've got a nursery to decorate, and cute baby things
to shop for..
on that note.. back to work..
Linda Knieps
KNIEPSLJ@VUCTRVAX
Valerie Grommes
I'm Valerie Groomes. I've been reading misc.kids for 6-7 months.
I am an ORACLE Database Administrator and was once a VAX Systems Manager;
I have a total of 10 years experience and have B.S. and M.S. degrees.
I am 35 years old and have been married for ~5 years.
My husband and I have a 4 month old daughter (1/17/94) and a
20 month old son (9/28/92). I LOVE being a mother and am often a very
tired mother these days.
I have really enjoyed reading misc.kids and it has been a big help to
know that I'm not the only one going through the different problems and
stages with my children. Thanks a lot!!! :-) Before having children
I didn't have much exposure to them and misc.kids helps me alot. I
recently began to post and will only post if I feel I can contribute
something new or have a strong urge to do so. I
may decide to email more than post -- I haven't decided yet; but I did take
the plunge.
I can't think of any one thing to say regarding my children...every day
my son says something or does something that I think is wonderful. He's
doing a good job of taking care of his baby sister. It's also great to
see that my daughter is definitely different from her big brother
and seeing her reach the usual baby milestones at her own pace.
Val
Mommy to Jason (9/28/92) and Patrice (1/17/94)
Judith G Hochberg
I'm Judy Hochberg, 33, a computer researcher at Los Alamos National
Laboratory. My husband, Michael Mattis, is a theoretical physicist
here. We have been married for 12 years today! We are high school
sweethearts from Scarsdale, New York, got married straight out of
college, and managed to find jobs together here.
We have three kids: Joanna, age 9, Aaron, 4, and Cameron, 8 months.
They are (of course) wonderful and S and D many CT's.
I am a combination of career mom and earth mother. On the career
side, I have always worked outside the home and am passionately happy
doing so. On the earth mother side, I am a rabid advocate of natural
childbirth and midwifery, nurse my babies for two years, sleep with
them for the first several months (Cameron has only recently graduated
to a crib and is semi-Ferberized), and carry them around in a sling.
I have been reading misc.kids for about two years and started posting
lightly a few months ago. Most of my email is to encourage pregnant
people to read my favorite book about natural childbirth: Robbie
Davis-Floyd's _Birth as an American Rite of Passage_ (University of
California Press 1992). I would be eager to hear from anyone out
there who has read this book.
Some of you may be interested in a live-in help arrangement we have
worked out that I think works really well for two-career couples. Our
kids go to school, preschool, or a babysitter during the day, so we
don't need (or want) a nanny. But we have a live-in person to help
with everything but the regular child care. She gets my bigger kids
off to (pre)school in the morning, chauffeurs my nine-year-old to
after-school lessons or keeps her company at home, sits weekends when
we go into Santa Fe and evenings when we go out, and does the
housecleaning and dishes (the latter six days/week). The middle of
the day is free for her to work part-time or go to school.
We have a detailed contract describing the job; I would be happy to
snail-mail a copy to anyone who is interested, or you can mail me a
diskette and I'll put a Macintosh Microsoft Word version on it.
I enjoy misc.kids a lot, though it takes a lot of time to read (less
since I added Ferber to my kill file!).
Best regards,
Judy
Inho Lee
I am Inho Lee (Huh? :-)). I am married to Eve Somers,
and we have an almost two-year-old son named Torin.
("Torin," by the way, is Irish meaning "chief." Probably
originates from the Norse god Thor or somebody. Does anyone
know the etymology of the name Torin?) I am Korean, and Eve
is Welsh/Austrian. We met in Munich, Germany when we were
both on the Junior Year in Munich program of Wayne State
University. As it happened, Eve was from Bryn Mawr and I
from Swarthmore (both in Pennsylvania, about 10mi from each
other), so we had no choice but to eventually get married.
I am a postdoc in biology at UC Santa Cruz. Eve used to
help refugees resettle in the US; now she is not gainfully
employed and happy to do whatever she wants with Torin.
I discovered misc.kids around March/April 1993. I have been
posting since October 1993 (I think). My involvement in misc.kids
became deeply entrenched since I started posting. There is a
world of difference between just reading and posting. When you
post, you get feedback which is usually positive and you start
really getting to know people. So I think all you so-called
lurkers should post more.
So here is my first CTTD, too:
Torin is such a joker, no make that Joker. For example, he would
do things he knows he is not supposed to do, like getting things
out of the garbage or biting, and then he would put on the most
charming grin and say, "Bunny!" (meaning "funny"). So what are
you supposed to do? Laugh, I guess. :-)
Inho Lee Torin's dad in...@fangio.ucsc.edu
Ibis East
Hi misc.kidders! My name is Ibis East, I'm 33 and Mama to Liana (almost 6)
and Alexander (just 3 mos!). Liana is the 6 yo Dawdler that I posted about
earlier! She's *very* smart (IMHO!) and very insightful. Alex is an
absolute sweetheart! He's smiling all the time now, and is reaallly cuddly!
I work for Silicon Graphics in Huntsville, AL (home of Redstone Arsenal and
Marshall Space Flight Center) and have only recently discovered the net.
My husband Steve (of 11 years) works for a government contractor here and
doesn't have access to the net :( . Our family also includes my two
stepsons: Chris (20 and on his own) and Matt (16 and just starting to drive
:-0). Our cat, Mattie, joins us sometimes!
I've been reading misc.kids since this past April and I love it. I have
posted a couple of times, emailed a few other times, even requested a few
FAQ's; I find this group to be a wonderful resource! I'll probably keep
reading and reading, and posting a little - I'm not very confident yet
joining in on some of the recent wars!
Glad to be participating!
Ibis
--
__\/__
/ _ _ \
| (o)(o) |
-----------------------------------/--oOOO----oo----OOOo---\-------
Ibis East, SGI Sr. Field Admin My checkbook is titled
ib...@huntsville.sgi.com "Deficit Spending...
205-830-5400 it isn't just for
fax 205-830-6634 governments anymore!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheryl Fritschle
I've posted a few times before so I'm not technically a lurker, but
close..
My name is Cheryl Fritschle, I'm 29 and a single parent(for 3 years
now). Currently I'm finishing my BA At UC Irvine, and will graduate
next week(yah!).
I have two kids, Katherine is 6 1/2, and Christopher is 3. My
organization line says "Newt House" because when we moved to our
current apartment, Christopher said he didn't want to go back to the
old house, he liked the "newt house" much better. The name stuck. :)
I've been reading misc.kids for about 4 years now. My fiance is also
a lurker(hi, Mark!)..we're getting married in August and will be
moving to Colorado(I was the one that posted asking for Aurora, CO
info, thanks to everyone who responded!)
That's enough for now, since everyone is posting today!
Cheryl Fritschle
ail...@skid.ps.uci.edu
mno...@netcom.com
Laura Harding
Hi, my name is Laura Harding and I am hereby unlurking! I am 28, and
I have a wonderful 2 year old princess named Caitlyn. I'm a single
mom with a great co-parent. I work fulltime as a Software Engineer,
and Caitlyn is just getting ready to switch from a home daycare to
a small center. I've been reading misc.kids for about 2 years; I used
to post/email at least some, but a change of jobs in February has left
me too busy to do more than scan through. I enjoy this forum and its
diversity and always leave find a tidbit that leaves me a little wiser.
CTTD: Caitlyn loves to watch "Pinochi-Nose". She also just learned what
"wake up" means. On Saturday I put her down for a nap. Two seconds
later she was back, shouting "I waked up!!!, Mama I waked up!"
Thanks for the invitation to be more vocal in the group; I have
plenty of opinions, and am not usually reluctant to share ;)
Laura
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laura Harding If you are ignorantly erroneous,
la...@poa.nrel.colostate.edu you have plausible deniability.
Ali Perry
Howdy...
My name is Ali Perry (Sunderland) and I've been reading misc.kids, on and off, for
about 3 years. I was posting heavily when I was pregnant with my daughter (dob-
8-12-92) and had Toxemia. I got such wonderful support and help from everyone!
Lately I've been able to follow threads - but have only posted about hand, foot
and mouth disease (which she didn't have). I am watching Emily constantly to see her
do an incredibly cute thing so I can finally post a CTTDorS.
I'm currently working at Sun Microsystems as an Administrative Assistant and I'm
30 years old. My husband Alan is a programmer at Sun and he's 29 years old. Emily is
almost 2 years old and is in a wonderful daycare full time. We live in Mountain View, California. We have no pets except for the spiders hanging out in the corners.
My biggest concern lately is that I have the "wicked guilties." We just got back
from Boston where we spent a week with my family as Alan attended the Usenix confer-
ence. My family is big on moms staying at home. Plus, my sister (who works nights
and is totally stressed out because of it) took us to all sorts of family
picnics for her kids softball and soccer teams and boyscout jamborees. It was a
lot of fun and Emily had a great time. However, I was the only mom who worked out
side of the home and the only one who didn't own her own home. Granted, houses
are cheaper in Boston than Silicon Valley but....
So, here I am sitting at work on my first day back after spending an entire week
with Emily - playing, talking and introducing her to new things (we went on the
swan boats and took the subway, etc). I miss her so much that I've already
called the day care twice.
This group has been the best parenting forum I've ever found. The books just don't
compare. Now, if only I had enough time to read every thread! ;-)
I am starting to ramble and my lunch hour is ticking away....
Ali Perry
Mum to Emily Edith, the 22 month old carpet shark. Drop something on the floor and
consider it gone!
Vanessa Stern
I occasionally post and often e-mail. I'm 37 years old last week
(AHHHHHHHH!!!) and have one 3.5YO son named Matthew. I work part-time (3
days a week) for GTE Labs and Matthew goes to a family daycare. My husband
is also 37 and works as a contracts manager for the Bank of Boston. We
live in Framingham, MA (I know others of you do, too. Who are you and
where do you live?)
I've been following the "baby hunger" postings with some interest. My
husband was reluctant to get pregnant with Matthew (we've been married 9
years), but has now been hounding me for at least 2 years to have another.
I did not exactly take to motherhood like a duck to water, and Matthew
wasn't the easiest baby in the world, so I really haven't been
interested.......until lately. My next door neighbor had a baby girl about
8 weeks ago and, although I can see it's not easy, I've become a little
interested. Also, some good friends of ours are expecting their second at
the end of August. I guess I'm feeling left out :-). It's a tough
decision because Matthew is still a challenge, but we've settled into a
comfortable routine and I'm very leery of starting over with another.
Also, I'm feeling my age a little.
Here's a CTTS from Matthew: He's gotten interested in watching his Thomas
the Tank Engine videos again after a long time of disinterest. One of the
stories is about Mavis, who calls Toby a "fusspot". Matthew has now been
calling us fusspots (which is better than some of the other things he's
been calling people lately :-) ). The other day he called his daddy a
fusscan. I said "I think you mean fusspot" and he said "oh yeah, you're a
fuss*pot* daddy." Well, we thought it was funny!
--
Vanessa R. Stern
vst...@gte.com
Penny Rheingans
I'm Penny Rheingans. I've been lurking on and off since
about 1983. Yep, '83. I finally posted once or twice earlier
this year (I was pregnant and felt like I finally knew something
about parenting). Is there a prize for the longest lurk?
I recently made a cameo appearance in Marie desJardins'
birth story (boy, do I feel famous!).
I'm now the mama of Ross the Wonder Baby (born 3/8/94). He's
happy and healthy and growing like crazy. In fact, the outfit
he's wearing today says it's a 24 month size -- that's only
8 times his actual age (usually he wears 9 month). Someone tell
me that he'll slow down, please. I hoped to include a CTTD, but
most of Ross's humor is visual, rather than verbal (and the rest is
biological). My favorite thing this week is his laugh. Ross started
laughing in his sleep at about a week and a half (what DO babies
dream about?); he's only recently started to laugh when he's awake.
I feel like if I could capture that laugh and send it out, there
would be lot less sadness in this world.
My husband Terry Yoo has become the most wonderful dad ever.
We're both computer geeks. I do scientific visualization; he's
a grad student doing a dissertation on medical image processing.
We're both hoping to teach some day. I've been back at work for two
weeks now (Terry is a full-time dad for the summer). Terry's been
bringing Ross out at lunch time, but I still miss him to pieces.
I'm glad you're all out there. I feel like you've really given
me an edge in the parenting adventure.
Penny
-----------------------------------------
Penny Rheingans -- Martin Marietta Technical Services
US EPA Scientific Visualization Lab
Phone : (919) 541-4544 (office) or 541-3716 (lab)
FAX : (919) 541-3967
Email : rhei...@vislab.epa.gov
Laura Gold
It's unlurking day, so I'm unlurking......
Hi, my name is Laura, I'm 28 years old, and I've been a misc.kids lurker
since about Dec '93. I have been working at SAS Institute as a QA Processor
(software testing) since Sept '93. I was laid off from my last job when I
was 8 months pregnant (yikes!) because the dodo couldn't pay me. We survived
and I got to be a SAH mom for just over 5 mths while job hunting. My
husband's name is Don. He's 31 and a Major in Public Safety at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go Heels!). We have one munchkin, Alex
(25 March 1993). Alex spends MWF with my mom and TTh with my husbands parents
(they even come and pick him up in the morning).
When I was pregnant I wished for 3 things, that my baby would be healthy,have
his dad's eyelashes, and my feet. I got all three plus dimples. He is my
life. He was an *extremely* easy baby (slept 5 hours the first night we were
home). It appears that he is going to be an easy toddler, at least for a
while longer.
I've really enjoyed reading this news group. I get lots of good info. Alot
of my own questions are answered before I even have them, which is great. In
fact, someone asked about swim diapers and I am eagerly awaiting responses on
this as Alex's just showed up in the mail today.
Don took Alex to the doctor recently and when they put him on the scale, he
weighed 28 pounds!! He gained 3 pounds in 2 months. He's a good eater
(obviously). He's about average height, I'd say 32-33 inches. We thought
once he started walking, his weight gain would slow down. He took his first
steps at 11 1/2 months, has been walking well since 12 1/2 months, and running
since 13 1/2 months. Does anyone else have a big one out there? I'm so tired
of people saying to me, "Oh, he's HUUUUGE!"
Gotta run, I'm off the clock and must go get the dragon,
laura
(mama to alex "the snapdragon" gold, 3/25/93)
--
**********************************************************************
* Laura S. Gold SAS Institute, Inc. *
* sas...@unx.sas.com SAS Campus Drive, R3437 *
* (919) 677-8000 x6437 Cary, NC 27513 *
**********************************************************************
Barbara Lewis
since I am still pretty much lurking. My husband, Baha Balantekin,and I
have three great kids, Katie, almost-8 (7/1/86) and fraternal twins Michael
and Justin, almost-5 (7/29/89). We live in Madison, Wisconsin and both are
scientists at the University.
Having fraternal twins has convinced me that quite a bit of
personality, especially sleeping and eating behavior, is genetic rather
than environmental. Justin slept through the night starting at 4-6 weeks
old, while Michael was still waking frequently at 6 months old and *still*
goes through periods of waking at night. (Yes, I suppose their environments
might have been different during pregnancy - maybe Justin kept kicking
Michael and waking him up?) On the other hand, both Justin and big sister
Katie love to go to sleep in our beds but Michael never wanted to (and was
not comforted by doing so) until recently. Michael *still* likes to be
rocked at bedtime, however!
CTTD: Michael is completely enthralled with our Macintosh. He's gotten
tired of many of our kids' programs and now spends quite a bit of time
moving files around between folders, changing colors of things, etc. Last
Sunday he must have spent half his waking hours at the computer - wouldn't
go outside, etc. That night at bedtime he said, "My mind is messed up. It
keeps making me think about the computer and makes me want to go downstairs
to play with it." I guess we'd like to make him wait a few more years
before becoming a true hacker, so we may have to set some time limits!
This is (obviously) a great group, and since I started reading it a few
months ago I have wasted (and enjoyed!) way too many work hours on the net.
I'm actually afraid to get hooked up at home - the kids would be bound to
find out sooner or later, and I don't want them having access to some of
the stuff out there! Knowing Michael, he'd figure out how to outsmart any
protection we put on - so we'll wait till we get more computers at home!
Thanks to all of you regular and less-frequent posters for sharing your
experiences with the rest of us, and I'll try to joing in more when I have
time.
e-mail: ba...@nmrfam.wisc.edu - My own opinions, of course
Stephanie Moskal Fysh
Hi all. I'm more of an infrequent poster than a lurker. My name is
Stephanie Fysh, I'm 28, and I'm due with my first baby in 10 days.
I will (as of July 1) be an Assistant Professor of English Lit. on a
one-year contract at Scarborough College, Univ. of Toronto. I'll be
looking for lots of support when I start working "for real" in September!
My husband, Stephen, is 30. He's a mechanical design engineer. We
live in downtown Toronto, in an Italian/Portuguese neighbourhood.
I've been on the Net for a couple of years, and have been reading
misc.kids since just before I got pregnant last fall. Stephen loves
the CTTDs and is a particular fan of the Ez. We're looking forward to
being part of next year's Photoalbum.
I don't have a CTTD (but I'm looking forward to my first one!),
although my grandmothers and my mother-in-law agree that they've
*never* seen *anyone* carry the way I am -- sort of like a half a very
large watermelon sticking straight out in front, with a point at the end.
Stephanie Fysh
sf...@epas.utoronto.ca
--
"The three rules of the Librarians of Time and Space are: 1) Silence;
2) Books must be returned no later than the last date shown; and 3) Do
not interfere with the nature of causality."
- Terry Pratchett, _Guards! Guards!_
Connie K. Varnhagen
I am Connie Varnhagen. I am an assoc prof at the University of Alberta.
I'm in the psychology dept and teach child development. But my research
(children's reading and spelling) and teaching is often not very relevant
to everyday children growing up. So I really have become fascinated with
misc.kids and the problems and anecdotes of the children of the posters.
I am married to a tv addict. Stanley works for our version of public tv
but the government has decided not to sponsor it anymore and Stanley will
soon be out of a job (anyone need an educational/marketing researcher?). I
hope he doesn't simply wathc the tv he has studied for so many years.
We have a son, Scott, who just turned 8. As an only child of older parents
(well, we aren't _really_ old - just 38), Scott has had many advantages and
disadvantages. He loves horses and riding (my other life is as a dressage
instructor and Scott rode with me until two weeks before he was born then
got back on at age 2). He loves music and is a Suzuki piano child - we
bought him a MIDI keyboard so he can compose on the keyboard and then print
the music out (sometimes I wonder if it would be better for him to spend
more time learning to read music and less learning by ear but... Scott
also loves bugs, particularly bees, and wants to be a parttime bee keeper
when he grows up (the rest of the time he wavers between being a
statistician and a forrest ranger).
CTTD: Last night Scott woke up as Stanley was getting ready for bed.
Apparenlty Scott got confused by the bathroom sounds, thought it was
morning (it is still light at 10 up here in Alberta), got up, got dressed,
and was getting breakfast when Stanley stopped him.
We also have two dogs, Chaba and CoCo, who are our other children, and one
cat, Zippo, who rules the house.
Connie Varnhagen
va...@psych.ualberta.ca
Flanagan, Kathleen Ann
of one boy. I post rarely but have been reading misc.kids for about 4 years.
For the first two years my homestudy was done and I
I was waiting for a child to be placed with me. I read a number of
the parenting books that were talked about and found "How to Talk
so your Child will Listen and Listen So Your Child will Talk"
(Farber and Maszlich?) to be especially useful.
My son moved in just over two years ago and he is now 9. Though he
moved into a residential setting after only 9 months with me and has
recently moved to a larger facility where he will grow up, he is
the son of my heart and I love him dearly...and he reciprocates that
love. He is very handsome and charismatic (you can believe me, they
aren't my genes), a real charmer who came through a hellish life and
now has to learn to channel those survivor strengths into socially
acceptable behavior...and he's working hard on it.
There is a good chance that we may be the oddest family around at the
moment. We are not a legal family and will not become
one. We don't live together. I am a single parent. We are an
interracial family. I can't give him much besides encouragement
and love because I am not part of his daily life, and therefore,
don't deal with too many discipline issues.
I am currently taking care of the computer system for a small research
group, but will be taking the CBEST and applying to teach emotionally
disturbed kids...but what I'd REALLY like to do is to advocate for
our (that is the collective our) children in the child welfare system.
While parents who need support deserve to get more than platitudes and
six one-hour parenting classes, children of those who are unwilling or
unable to change quickly deserve safety and permanence and if they have
to wait while an adult gets their own life together, they grow up alone
and not fully belonging anywhere.--sorry, I'll get off my soapbox.
My son is really into POGs, actually he's pretty obsessive about
collecting them. But since that collecting is pretty age appropriate,
I am delighted even as I am driven nuts.
CTTS: My son loves Chinese food and one time I went to visit him after
work so stopped for some food to go. Even though he had eaten a good
dinner, he joined me and ate all the orange chicken. With chopsticks
One of his friends in the cabin looked and said "You're eating with
chopstick?" To which my son replied (with that face of "how could you
be so stupid), "Of course. I'm eating Chinese."
Then because my hair was up with just one stick (whatever it is called)
in it he told everyone that I was Chinese...and a number of these 9 to
11 year olds came up to ask if I was Chinese. He was ROTFL.
Kathleen Flanagan
Mary Garrett
I guess I'll join in the "Great Unlurking." I have posted a few times;
but, because I have to post from work I try to keep it to a minimum
since it means either staying late or posting during my lunch time. I
am looking for alternative methods. Does anyone know of any? I have a
PC at home. I would love to join in some of the discussions but I am
reluctant to do so from work.
My name is Mary Garrett. I work as a Documentation Specialist at SAS
Institute in Cary, NC. I have been reading misc.kids since I started
work here (last July). My husband, Pat, is a student at North Carolina
State University. He is working on a degree in Computer Science. I
know we don't come close to taking the award for being the oldest
parents but at 35 (me) and 36 (Pat) we aren't "spring chickens" either.
We have one child. A daughter, Kathryn. She is 16 months old and quite
a hand full. My parents take care of her during the week and have been
doing so since I returned to work (when Kathryn was 4 weeks old). She
is going to start at a Montessori school in August.
Now, for the most important section... CTTD....
For weeks Kathryn has been facinated with trying to put her shoes on and
fastening the buckles. The other day she came up to me pointing at her
feet and holding them up saying "mmmummm aahh aaahaa" which translates
to "Look what I did. Aren't you proud of me? Aren't I wonderful?" She
had her shoes on and the buckles where closed. She had done it! One
small problem. The shoes were on the wrong feet. She was so proud of
herself that I didn't have the heart to take them off and put them on
the correct feet. She walked around with her shoes on the wrong feet
for the remainder of the day. Why do they put the buckles on the
outside anyway? Makes it much harder for the "do it myself" stage.
Nary Garrett
Mama to Kathryn - 1/24/93
Photoablum - pg 54
MagDeRo
for about three months. I have a Macintosh Performa and subscribe
through America Online, so you can see I am not savvy to the ways of
newsgroups, Internet, etc. I also read several other groups,
including soc.roots and rec.cats and rec.dogs.
My husband and I own our own business in Mpls. We have two sons, Sam
(will be 12 in Aug.) and Jake(will be 10 in Jul.) So far I have
responded to people through direct email mostly except for posting in
reply to ADD messages. Sam is has ADD so I am especially interested
in those related issues. Many of the messages here are about
toddlers and babies - I can understand that because I remember
feeling at a loss most of the time. Now it all seems to be a dim
memory so I don't have too much too say.
In our family we also have a Border Terrier (Hugo), an overweight
orange Tabby (Zelda), two rats (Squeak and Sylvester), one fish and
assorted hermit crabs. Can't make any promises about how much I'll
post in the future. Probably continue to make direct contact via
email unless I think I have something to say that won't just be
repeating the usual bunch of advice.
I enjoy reading this group but my bill from AOL has gone up
dramatically since I discovered it.
suz...@fnalo.fnal.gov
reading misc.kids about 2.5 years ago (I remember because my first post
was about my son's 2 yr checkup, and he's 4.5 now!). We're also in the
photoalbum (p. 177); I hope a few people recognized us! I have noticed myself
posting more often since it came out...
Anyway, a brief introduction: I am Sue Willis, age 43, an experimental high
energy physicist and assoc. prof. of physics at Northern Illinois University.
My husband, Jonathan Reich, is 47, and is a househusband. (He has been a
Unitarian minister, and is currently studying to be a stockbroker). Our son,
Leo Reich, is 4.5, and has no occupation yet. (ob. funny thing - I got Leo a
passport recently, in preparation for a trip we are taking this summer to
Scotland, and the application had a space for "occupation". The clerk seemed a
bit nonplussed about leaving it blank; she suggested "student" but I pointed out
he wasn't in school yet; I suggested "child", at which point she decided that
leaving it blank was probably OK.) Leo is very smart, very verbal (he will
tell stories that can go on for 15 or 20 minutes!) and very cute.
As someone else said (I've lost the attribution! Oh no!), I am part
technofreak (she had a better word for it too) and part earth mother. Leo
was delivered by a midwife; I nursed him until a month past his 4th birthday
(and then I weaned him because of some medicine I was taking; I suppose he
would have quit eventually but it certainly wasn't imminent!); we still have
a family bed. Leo is also showing no interest in having his own bed; he is
sometimes confused by pictures in his books showing children sleeping alone,
and wonders why they have no one to sleep with.
Enough for now - I've enjoyed this group tremendously, and plan to continue
enjoying it for a long time!
Sue Willis
mom to Leo, 11/29/89
PA p. 177
Jane Medefesser
Most of you know I'm NOT a lurker :-)
My name is Jane Medefesser (nee Allan). I am a Software Quality Assurance
test engineer For Sun Microsystem's printing division. Actually, I'm the
testing lead which means I spend more time supervising and administrating
than testing these days.
My husband Drew and I are both 35 and married in 1985. We have 3 children:
Melissa- 5/11/86 Megan 11/18/88 and Mitchell-5/12/90. Drew is an IBEW union
electrician. To most people, he's a blue collared construction worker (but
what a hunk, let me tell you...) He's been put down as such by some intellectual
snobs, but hey - we lived off his salary for almost 5 years while I was a
stay-at-home mom, and we bought a home - in SAN JOSE - so smirk if you must:
It's a good honest living and he's no meathead...
We live in a big (by Ca. standards) old house in Santa Clara County. Our
mailing address is San Jose: our phones and utilities come from Los Gatos.
When we call for Police & Fire services, we never know whether we'll see
someone from San Jose, Los Gatos or the county!!! We're home-grown California
natives, in fact we've known each other since we were 4 years old and went to
the same schools - so think about THAT when your 4 year old says she loves
Tommy Jones ! :-)
I've been on the net since 1983: first in net.singles and net.women then
net.kids. In 1988 when Megan was born I left my career to concentrate on
family. I returned to work full-time last May.
---
Jane Medefesser - Page 110
SQA 'n Stuff--
Mother of 3, Girl Scout Leader, wife,
chauffer, chef, maid, concubine...
Sun Microsystems Computer Corp
jane.me...@Eng.Sun.Com
Jody L Kempf
-mikey-
(snip)
>. . .I have one son, CJ, who is 8
> months old. We are actually considering having a second one, and soon!
My wife and I have a 4.5yo son, a 2yo(tomorrow) daughter, and a 7 month old
son (my calculator tell me that's 17 months apart)(what were we
thinking??:-) ) so i think i may be slightly qualified to offer some
answers
>
> Someone please reassure me about the following:
> 1. Episiotomies don't hurt as much or as long the second time around
oops, can't answer this one for obvious reasons. (but I'll say that you're
right just to make you feel better).
> 2. Not-quite-two-year-olds can be moved out of the crib and into the
> twin bed successfully
Our daughter was moved into her "big girl" bed recently (actually a bunk
bed with her older brother on the top bunk). No/minimal problems so far;
she could not climb out of her crib, BUT she obviously can get out of bed
(good and bad: when she wakes up she can get up, but when she doesn't want
to go to bed she can get up).
> 3. There is enough energy to incubate #2 while chasing #1
Thats where hubby (or other person) really comes in handy. My wife seems
to have endless energy when I'm at work, but immediately "crashes" when I
walk in the door (amazing timing isn't it?). Now, when you have three
you're suddenly outnumbered; its now two on one.
> 4. Life goes on,
Yes it does, but it's even better when shared with MORE loved ones
> money stretches,
money is amazingly elastic and usually stretches to cover the necessities
and then some
> time expands,
well something expands but I don't think its time (my waist for instance
:-) ). Time is at a premium and you just have to make sure you spend it
wisely especially with more than one child. #1 needs just as much
attention as he/she did prior to the arrival of #2 so don't forget his/her
"less apparent" needs.
> and love grows enough to sustain the larger family
since you understand this, you _must_ be ready for another bambino!!
>
> I love this newsgroup!
>
> Jennifer
Just remember: if it were easy, its probably not worth it.
Good luck and most of all ENJOY!!
-mikey-
Karen Kender
'Tis the day to officially unlurk :-))
My name is Karen Kender. I am mom to two - Jason (almost five) and
Caitlin (22 months). I've been reading misc.kids for about two years.
Because my access to news is through work, I usually only get to the
misc.kids group once or twice a week. By the time I see questions posted,
several responses have already been posted, too. I do like to e-mail!
I'll probably stay in the frequent e-mail, occasional poster group.
I'm a programmer in a hardware engineering group, supporting design
automation software. My husband, Clark, is a programming manager for a
company that writes/supports financial software. I remember having hobbies
a few years back, but I can't remember what they were :-))
Here's the only funny story I can think of - sort of a CTTD -
Recently, a net.friend stayed overnight with us. This past weekend, a box
arrived from her with a thank-you gift enclosed. I got a new coffee mug,
Jason took the box the mug was in to daycare to add to their 'store', Caitlin
spent the weekend filling the big cardboard box and dumping it out over and
over and over and over.... And the cats chased the packing 'peanuts' into every
corner of the house. I'm sure the next time we turn on the air conditioner,
it's going to look like it's snowing *inside* our house. :-))
Karen
misc.kidding since 92 PA pg.86
--
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
*Karen Kender | There's no such thing as a bug,
*Applications Engineer | merely undocumented features being
*Network Systems Corp | implemented improperly.
*k...@anubis.network.com | @--}--}--
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Beth Vail Jones
I have been reading misc.kids (formerly net.kids) off-and-on since 1984.
I'm an "older mom"; I'm 40, and my husband is older yet at 48 :-).
Sometimes our age is an asset, and sometimes not. Folks we meet usually
assume we are younger, especially when they see our kids.
My husband does not read "notes" -- he is often amazed at the great ideas
I pick up from the net. I often wish he would read misc.kids also, so that
he could pick up a few good ideas, too :-). I post and email once in a
while.
Our kids are smart, cute, and unique: Ben is 5 and Andy is 3.
Here's a sweet thing they do: This morning I was feeling rather exasperated
at the constant whining, baiting, screaming, and taunting that was going on
between our kids. After getting out of the car at daycare, my older son
Ben said, "Mom, I think YOU need a hug." He was right. And you know, it
really did make me feel better!
Has anyone else noticed that having a truly loving kiss on an "owie" really
DOES help? :-)
Thanks for all the great ideas and advice!!!
Beth Jones, mom to Ben (4/22/89) and Andy (4/3/91)
TracyB4278
I would do it again to celebrate the day!
I am Tracy Barnett, and I mostly stay at home, and read misc.kids on
AOL, although I am now looking for a cheaper internet access - this
is killing me (or rather, my husband is killing me :-) In my other
life I was a Paralegal for a software company, and had net access
then, but that was a long time ago. I have been reading and posting
since I got access - in March, I think.
I have two children, Emily, 1-5-91 and Haley, 7-8-93. They are
wonderfu and beautiful. Emily goes to School (daycare) four or five
mornings a week. Haley stays home with me while I study or do one of
my three VERY part time jobs. I am currently teaching breastfeeding
classes once or twice a month (both prenatal and back to work) and am
working on my Lamaze certification to teach childbirth ed classes as
well. This will allow me to work and stay home durring the day.
My husband is a software engineer/manager at a Mac software company.
He is starting to lurk from work, so if he sees this, Hi Ron! He has
yet to run into any of my posts (check the breastfeeding stuff, Ron,
clue in!). He started to lurk to see why our AOL bill was so high!
My CTTS- Haley has started TALKING!!! She says Kitty and UP and
AH-Boom. It is very cute. Kitty sounds like a spitting sound. We
are very proud of her!
Tracy Barnett
Pam Elliott
I have been reading misc.kids for about 9 mos. and have
really enjoyed all the info, stories, advice, etc.
I have posted a couple of times, and got some wonderfult
advice both times.
My husband and I are both Software Engineers, and live in
South Orange County with our 13 MO daughter, Sydney.
Although she was an unplanned gift, she has brought so
much happiness to our lives, that we wouldn't change a
thing. She is now at the age where she is beginning to
assert her independence, yet is still so loving and sweet,
with lots of kisses for Mommy and Da-Da.
I enjoy all the working parents threads and ideas about how
to manage time/household/children. Currently, we have a
great babysitter who cares for Sydney at her home, but still
deal with some guilt and regret every Monday morning.
I would like to become more active in this group, because
I really appreciate its existence. Thanks for letting me
be a part of such a wonderful group!!
Pam
(Mommy to Sydney, 4/20/93)
cme...@indyvax.iupui.edu
I guess I qualify as a "lurker" because I felt like I
was hit in the gut when I read the posts about why
lurkers shouldn't be in the PhotoAlbum. Diane Lin's
admission and retraction of her sentiments about
lurkers really meant a lot and was greatly appreciated.
(For the other poster who didn't want lurkers looking
at her photoalbum page, I just close my eyes when I
get to her page so she doesn't have to worry about me.)
Anyway, I'm Cathy and I'm on the faculty of the Division
of Biostatistics at the Indiana University Medical Center.
I've been reading misc.kids since early '91. My daughter
Sarah was born October 22, 1991. I'm the one who posted
the YKYAPW message about putting a banana back together
with a toothpick... I think misc.kids has a wealth of
information, and is dominated by a real caring, thoughtful
group of participants.
I've never posted CTTS or CTTD mostly because I'm not good
at describing situations in writing -- I always feel like
I'd have to add "I guess you had to be there" to the end.
Maybe someday...
-Cathy
Sanford D. Porter
as, a "seasoned" or "veteran" mother but you can just say
old; I'm 39. We live in Gainesville, Florida (two hours
north of Disney). Threads that have originated with our
family include "Becoming a spread-out family," "Rent for
Adult Children," and "Etymology and Preferences: SAH
parent." I have been a mother at home for four years;
before that I was a journalist and survey researcher. In
my spare time I edit our church newsletter, serve as a
"resource mother" for our state's early intervention
program, enjoy sewing, do a little free-lance writing, and
participate in various volunteer work (i.e., once a month
I cook dinner for cancer patients and their families).
This is really Sanford's account. He is a research
entomologist specializing in "fire ants" and is the father
of FORMIS, a data base of scientific literature about
ants. He is also a Boy Scouter of 10+ years and is a
great dad, specializing in teaching practical stuff
like putting up towel rods and using the lawnmower. We
met on an insect collecting trip at college, and for years
afterward he told people that I was the prettiest
butterfly he ever caught.
We have five children. Phillip (18) just finished his
first year at the University of Florida, where he played
tuba in the band. Julia (almost 15) is starting high
school this year (yes, we held her back from kindergarten
a year). Becky (13) is an excellent artist and poet, and
the family fashion consultant. Elaine (3) enjoys her
playgroup, and Lorissa (13 months) has been walking for
three months and babbling nonstop.
We all enjoy camping, canoeing, going to the community
theater (especially the musicals), listening to National
Public Radio news, and traveling. Some trips involve
collecting data for Sanford (the big kids are trained
in various tasks) but some are just fun. This summer it is
just short trips since we were up to Michigan over spring
break and Sanford and I are going to Europe alone in
August. But next spring we are going to Illinois (yes,
Valerie, we'll try to stop by) and next summer we are
going to the Grand Canyon, and the summer after that to
Philadelphia and Boston. We afford our trips by shopping
at yard sales, eating beans and rice, having only one car,
and not having cable television (even though our small
city doesn't have NBC or CBS.)
How do you choose one CTTD? My worst problem as a parent
is keeping a straight face when they do something amazingly
funny.
Colleen K. Porter
BS, MA, mother at home
Phillip (18), Julia (14), Becky (13), Elaine (3) and Lorissa (1)
- - - - - - - - - - - -
"Ideals are stars to steer by. They are not a stick to beat
ourselves with."
-Barbara B. Smith
Laura Marple
I'm a semi-lurker - I've been reading misc.kids for about a year, and posting
for several months. I love reading this group (especially since I learned how
to create killfiles :) since when we moved out west for grad school I seem to
have lost contact with little children. I also like m.k because I don't do
anything without thorough research first - so I want to know what I'm getting
into before I take the plunge into parenthood! It's also eased the isolation
of being in a strange town, at a fairly uncosy school - I've met some lovely
people through this group who I hope will be lifetime friends. I'm not sure
when we'll start a family - it depends on finances mostly (i.e. we're ready
now, but the circumstances just aren't right). Right now the birth stories are
one of my favourite things to read (the unknown seems less scary the more you
learn about it) as well as posts from people outside North America about their
common and different concerns as parents.
Anyway, about me: I'm 25 (almost 26), married to Kirk (same age) who is a
software engineer - and who opened up a new world by teaching me about e-mail
and the Internet. Right now I'm completing an M.A. in English social history,
about to embark on a Ph.D. in German social history. My interests are mystery
novels, books in general, traveling (I grew up like a gypsy - 8 schools in 12
years! now my feet itch if I stay in one place too long :), learning languages
(German, Swedish, hoping to learn Yiddish next year), genealogy, knitting,
cross-stitch... Kirk and I met in Washington, DC and have fond memories of
Adams Morgan, Eastern Market...and all our other old haunts. Kirk is from
Kutztown, PA, which most of you will not have heard of. I'm from nowhere in
particular, but I suppose I think of Hawaii and England as "home" having spent
the most time (and the happiest times) in those two places. We have two cats,
named Pan and Papagena, and a rabbit named Thisbe (can you say "baby
substitutes" :) Since I'm mixed/biracial/whatever you want to call it (half
Greek, half Japanese, with parents who are from relatively recent immigrant
families and who have a strong sense of their heritage) I am also particularly
interested in issues to do with cultural adaptation, biracial children, etc.
Kirk is half Jewish and half Welsh and I'd like our children to grow up with
a strong sense of pride in and knowledge of every part of their background.
I'd be interested to hear from parents in similar situations about how they
encourage this - so many parents have said to me sadly that their children
have no interest in where they came from, and I do not want this to happen to
us.
Looking forward to getting to know more of you,
Laura
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laura Simeon Marple * "When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said
Department of History * Piglet, "what's the first thing you say to
Univ of British Columbia * yourself?" "What's for breakfast?" said Pooh.
Vancouver, BC, Canada * "I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting
* today?" said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
la...@marple.home.cs.ubc.ca * "It's the same thing," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
marion baumgarten
a lurker!
I'm 34, married to Jon, who will be 34 this year also. We met in college,
got married right afterwards, in August we'll be married 12 years.
We have the world's most adorable and intelligent children (did I mention
beautiful?) Martha will be 6 in October. Peter will be three in October.
(Now you can figure out what we do in February :)).
We live in River Forest, IL, just outside of Chicago.
Jon is a programmer/analyst for the Fed. Gov. (regular hours!)
and I have a job share arrangement with the VA where I work as a personnel
staffing specialist 3 days a week.
I am involved in a local parenting education oragnization, do a little with
the Child Welfare Commitee for the League of Women Voters. Jon and I are
both active in our local Episcopal church, I'll be a catechist next year for
a Montessori based religious education program we do called the Catechesis
of the Good Shepard.
I hate housework. I like to cook. I've been on the net since around January
of this year. (Delphi was a Christmas present).
CTTD_ Peter loves trains and every time we pass by train tracks (and there
are a lot!)- we hear twain twack, twain twack.
Martha is finishing Jr. Kindergarden tomorrow and makes up her own
knock-knock jokes which are awful, but we laugh anyway.
Marion Baumgarten Mari...@delphi.com
Louise C Mallory
my friends here don't have kids either, I really enjoy reading about your
families. I'm a 33 year old PhD student in engineering at The Ohio State
University. I'm Canadian, and grew up in southern Ontario.
As the oldest of five (over a 10-year span) I grew up fascinated by pregnancy
and babies and assuming I'd eventually have some of my own. Since for most of
my adult life, I've either been single, broke, or a grad student (right now all
three!), *eventually* hasn't come yet.
But my oldest friend just named her little girl Colleen Louise, and my
sister-in-law is due with our first niece/nephew in about 8 weeks ... and I'm
looking forward to reporting to you ...
When I'm not working on my dissertation, or reading the net, my main interest
is organizing (and still playing) ice hockey for girls and women. (do you know
any little girls who'd like to play hockey? I love talking about how to find
or start a hockey club...) CTTS: 9-year-old Marie, coming off the ice after her
first hockey game: "Mommy! This is the funnest day I've EVER HAD!"
Louise Mallory
Mark D. Norton
: I've been reading misc.kids for about 4 years now. My fiance is also
: a lurker(hi, Mark!)..we're getting married in August and will be
: moving to Colorado(I was the one that posted asking for Aurora, CO
: info, thanks to everyone who responded!)
Hi Cheryl :). Well since it's national misc.kids unlurking day I might
as well exit the shadows and present myself. Plus, it wouldn't do to have
3/4ths of the family unlurked and still 1/4th hiding in the corner like a
relative we didn't like to talk about :).
My name is Mark Norton and I live here in sunny Aurora, Colorado. I'm 23
years old and have been reading misc.kids for about 9 months, and have only
posted about the pattycake song lyrics *smile*. I work for Hughes Aircraft
Corp in Aurora as a Software/System/Electrical Engineer after graduating
from the University of Missouri-Rolla last December with my BSEE.
As Cheryl said, we're planning on getting married in August and have been
engaged for 5 months and 13 days exactly (easy to remember, I proposed Jan
1 :) ).
Well that's my official unlurkation. I guess it's more of an appendix
unlurking since the main information was presented earlier by Cheryl but
at least I've made my contribution :). Catch y'all laterly
Mark
--
===================+=========================================================
Mark D. Norton | Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Beauty
mno...@netcom.com |
=============================================================================
Wot we gonna do tonight, Brain?
The same thing we do every night, Pinky....TRY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!
=============================================================================
Marty Lindower
I've posted here once or twice, but not very regularly, so time
to say hi to all. My name is Marty Lindower, and my wife Naomi and I live
in Rocky Hill, CT (just south of Hartford) with Carlie, who's 22.5 months
old, and 2 very fat cats. Carlie, as are all of your kids, is a genius;
surprising considering her folks ;) She can count to 14, knows about 80%
of the alphabet, and is a _fast_ learner. She's had recurrent ear
infections, so the misc.kids FAQ on ear infections has been a good read
for us (and our MD).
I'm an optometrist (unofficial advise given, but worth what you
pay for it ;) , and Na's a stay-at-home-and-go-crazy mom (Mt Holyoke
alumni - drop us a line!). Carlie's a good kid, but very demanding of time
and energy, not much at playing on her own unless Daddy's around (so Na
claims).
I've been on the 'Net only a few months, and am totally hooked.
Been BBS'ing around since the 300 baud-wow-this-is-cool-days, so this is
awesome for me.
See ya all around here, if I have the time to read the zillions
of messages this group generates.
Marty
Stephen Rudy
week old kitten) and Leda (8 y.o. Lab/Shephard pound mutt.) Annette
has been reading and responding by email for 4 years - Steve just started
recently. We became completely hooked when a six month assignment to
England was made easier by misc.kids readers in Cambridge, through whom
we found a terrific preschool and recommendations for weekend travels.
CTTD - Rob is an afficionado of the Fire and Rescue video and has honed
his skills from visits to the fire station around the block. To
demonstrate modern fire safety at his preschool, Rob will sling a thermos
on his back (oxygen), intubate himself with a piece of garden hose, and
complete his *breathing apparatus* by pulling a pair of underwear over
his head, peeping through a leg hole. He then does a reasonably good
siren imitation and rescues people and more frequently the cat, to the
latter's dismay.
Sam, when not imitating his older brother, is a master at fine motor
skills and enjoys building intricate towers of blocks, typically
augmented by kitched utensils, Mom's shoes, Dad's ties, and occaisionally
the back end of our long-suffering dog. Entering preschool after our
stay in England, Sam, in his best British accent, asked me in front of
his new teachers if we could go to a pub for lunch. I was sure the
social service people would take me away that afternoon.
Projecting out fifteen years, we are certain that Rob will return home
from college every weekend with his dirty laundry in tow and his love
life in tatters. Sam will wire home for money and call collect from Nepal.
We are looking forward to a long association with misc.kids. Oh yes,
Annette works at Xerox Parc in Use Architecture and Steve is responsible
for marketing, sales, and FDA matters for three medical device start-ups.
--
__________________________
Steve Rudy
<sr...@netcom.com>
__________________________
Carol Barclay
not of anxiety, just plain old exhaustion, after trying to get to it
ALL DAY LONG, just when I sat down at the computer, my system's News
went down for three hours!! I'm not a computer person, I have only
been on-line for 3 weeks...does that make me the Newest Newbie of All??
(sounds like a good title for a children's book...)
The Net has already changed my life--I can't stop reading, and have
posted once in alt.parents-teens. This is the most fantastic resource
I could ever imagine!!
My name is Carol Barclay, and my story is a little different from many of
the misc,kidders. I am 49.5 (NOT 50) years old, and single mother
(since she was 1.5) to a 17.5 (NOT 18) year old daughter, Laurel.
I am also a family day care giver, and have been taking care of infants and
toddlers-3 or 4 at a time- in my home (my SMALL New York City apartment)
for 7 years. I love it, even though it's pretty exhausting!!! So,
I have LOTS of experience and interest in little ones, and about 10
lifetimes of experience (all gained in the last 5 years :-)) with teens.
I also take classes at Bank Street College of Education here in
Manhattan. If I had any time, energy or money left over, I would enroll
in their Masters program in Infant and Parent Development... I do plan
to give new mothers' support groups sometime soon.
My daughter is a wonderful, brilliant, creative, energetic, enthusiastic,
exciting, (and
sometimes dificult) person. (always has been, since birth--I do believe
in innate personality traits...) She is a talented poet,(a high school
junior) and we are in total immersion in the college search process.
She had a lot of trouble confining her energy to the demands of a very
structured high school,(Bronx HS of Science), after being very happy in
an "open classroom" progressive elementary school, and is now in a
wonderful alternative school (New York CIty Public!), where the kids do
internships instead of classes, and then do writing projects based on the
internships.
---after a year working at the National Organization for Women answering
the Women's Help Line, the project was to compile a reading list that
could be used to teach a class on feminismm to a high school class.
This is much too long, sorry (I've always had trouble with
limit-setting.:-))
I would love to hear from some more parents of teens. alt.parents-teens
doesn't get much traffic, although there's been a campaign on to increase it.
I would also like to know if there are any other NYC misc.kidders.
MY misc.kids demographics: Pro family bed, ANTI Ferber
(yes, I've read him); pro public schools, unsure about home schooling;
pro alternative style education (progressive, experiential, mixed age
grouping, kids teach kids, etc (anybody read John Taylor Gatto's book
*Dumbing Us Down*, a brilliant criticism of "traditional" education?)
Anyway, enough for now. I think I'm going to become one of those
"Once I get started you can't stop me" posters....
--Carol Barclay, mother of Laurel, 17.5 (YEARS, not months!)
caregiver to Chloe, 1.5 yrs; Christopher, 1.5 yrs; Andrew, almost 2;
proud aunt and caregiver to Max, 1 yr 4 mos. (whose father gave me
Internet access--thanks, Jim!); and don't forget Mimi, 11 year old
poodle-doggy, friend-of-babies :-)) !
--
Carol Barclay car...@panix.com
Ann Widdowson
lurker.
I work at Motorola and found this group after returning from the birth of my
first child. (Lauren born 1st March 1993). Steve and I are both British and
naturally reserved, and with some issues about posting from work I will
probably remain a lurker - making my suggestions directly by email.
A CTTD - well of course everything Lauren does is really cute :-)..oh boy
an example.....
Lauren is fascinated by feet, shoes and socks; She began removing her own
socks at a very early age! If we leave our shoes or socks around she will
pick them up, bring them to where we are sitting and try to put them on for us.
Or failing that wear them herself..It is pretty cute seeing a baby with size 4 feet
shuffling around with her dad's size 10 dockers on!! She hasn't quite got the
hang of my pumps yet!!
Oh well back to lurking....
Ann
--
Ann Widdowson (wid...@cig.mot.com)
Motorola Inc.
Arlington Hts. IL
(708) 632-2331 "To err is human; to really foul up takes a computer"
Janeane Hascall
I've posted a few times, but infrequently enough to fall into the lurker
catagory.
My husband, John, and I live in Ames, Iowa, and my husband is a UNIX
guru ;-) here at the university. Our son, David, was born 8/26/93, and
I'm lucky to be a SAH mom. Reading misc.kids has certainly kept me from
feeling isolated, not to mention providing lots of great info!
We enjoy going for long walks with the stroller, puttering around in our
yard (I also grow orchids), and are, I'm afraid, net.addicts. We hope
to take David on his first camping trip this fall.
ObCTTD: Coca-Cola cans seem to hold a certain fascination for our son
- not only does David zip right across the floor if you set your pop
can down, but unopened cans have also turned out to be amoung his
favorite playthings. Do you think Coca-Cola needs a new star for their
commercials? :-)
Thanks for the chance to introduce myself,
Janeane Hascall
--
Janeane Hascall
jan...@iastate.edu
el...@cruzio.com
Hi,
I've been reading misc.kids for a few years and frequently e-mail my
responses and post somewhat less often.
My family and I live in Santa Cruz, CA and love it here. I am 27,
a stay at home mom to two wonderful daughters, and a part-time student
heading toward a Nursing degree and a degree in radiologic technology
(ah, decisions, decisions, I guess I'll do them both...).
My husband Carl (32 years old) and I have been together about 9 years.
He is a full-time instructor at our local community college (CAD Drafting
and Computer Animation), a part-time computer consultant, and is slowly
working toward his PhD in his spare time (ha!).
Our daughter Sierra is 5 years old (12/21/88) and just completed her
pre-school career at a great co-op. She is very excited about starting
kindergarten in the Fall and often asks how long it will be until
she gets to go to kindergarten (I think we're down to about 90 days
now! ;-) )! She is quite an artist and especially loves to make books.
She spends many hours working on detailed drawings for each page and
then asks me how to spell the words for the stories. She also loves the
beach, running around in the backyard sprinklers, and water balloon fights. :)
Mikayla is almost 3 years old (7/20/91) and is so much fun! She's
so loving and cuddly (we go through many, many rounds of "I love you"
"I love you too" each day! and she's always saying things like "You're
my friend!" - oh, she can be sooo sweet!) and concerned about other
people. She's very active, loves to run and climb, also loves to care
for her dolls. She's been enjoying the co-op pre-school since she
was a baby because she's come along on my work days there, but this
Fall she'll finally be officially enrolled.
CTTS: I think this may be one of those where you had to be there, but
it cracked me up. We were building sand castles at the beach yesterday
and Sierra was wanting to scoop up some seawater into her bucket but
wasn't ready to get wet yet. She wanted me to get the water for her,
but I encouraged her to keep trying (it was tricky for her to get close
enough to get enough water but not get wet). She stomped up to me
after several tries and said, "Why do *I* have to do all the work
around here?!!" Gee, could she be mimicking someone she knows? ;)
Elena
(beautiful daughters on page 65 of the photoalbum)
--
david m poduska
misc.kidder yet (that should happen later this week), but no one ever said
I needed an invitation, so ...
I am David Poduska, a 28 year old computer operator living in Cleveland.
I have worked as a third-shift computer operator for an international law firm
the last four years while playing the part of full-time graduate student during
the day. I have an M.S. in computer engineering, but will remain in operations
for the time being. I am trading my former life as a grad student (along with
a 286.4 mile round trip commute to Ohio State) for a life as a SAH dad. Since
my actual work schedule is three 12.5 hour mights, I will be home with our
impending baby most of the time.
I will have been married to Lara 4 years on June 23. Lara just completed her
third year at the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine (contrary to what Seinfeld
may say, they are *real* doctors --- at least her tuition is as much as any
other medical school :-) Even more exciting is the fact that she just finished
her last set of final exams *ever*.
We also have a 15 month old, 125 pound Mastiff named Doc (shooting for all of
us to be docs (doctors)). At first glance Doc is a very good-looking dog, but
upon closer examination a couple things are noticeable. First, she has golf
ball sized fluid buildups in her elbows because she likes to drop down instead
of laying down; this is not recommended for 125 pound dogs :-) She also has a
bald patch (about 3/4 inches in diameter) on her tail because she always tucks
her tail underneath herself when sitting down (usually on concrete). She's
also the biggest baby around.
I am an infrequent poster because 1) I generally keep late hours so by the time
I read the news my position has already been posted by someone else (and I
think this group has enough traffic already); and 2) I prefer to respond to
questions/requests by E-mail and let the requester summarize. However, I will
be posting again shortly (but not soon enough for Lara :-) as our first child
is due this Friday.
Cheers,
Dave
Emma's(?) dad, June 17, 1994(?)
Patricia Rose Wrean
I've been reading misc.kids since I moved to Caltech in 1991,
along with rec.boats (I'm a bluewater cruiser) and all the
clari.canada groups to catch the latest news from back home.
I'm especially interested in the asthma and allergy threads,
being an allergic asthmatic myself, but also like to follow
the homeschooling debates. My father was a teacher, and I've
always been interested in teaching. Also, if in the future
we decide to do another long-distance cruise with kids aboard,
I might be using the homeschooling option myself. But who
knows what the future holds?
Anyway, on the next unlurking . . .
Pat
--
------------------------------------------------------------
Patricia Wrean wr...@caltech.edu
Andrew Scott
>From: sf...@epas.utoronto.ca (Stephanie Moskal Fysh)
>Subject: Re: Unlurking
>Date: 13 Jun 1994 20:36:01 GMT
>Hi all. I'm more of an infrequent poster than a lurker. My name is
>Stephanie Fysh, I'm 28, and I'm due with my first baby in 10 days.
<CLIPPED>
>Stephanie Fysh
>sf...@epas.utoronto.ca
The best of British luck to you in nine days or so.
Troy D. Evans
I am not sure if I am still considered a lurker, but I never officially
introduced myself. I have been reading and posting for about 6 months or
so. I almost gave this up after getting FLAMED on my first posting.
My name is Claudine Evans and I am a 28 year old stay at home mom. (The
posting shows up under my husband's name...Troy D. Evans) We have two boys.
Joshua, who is 4 years old 3/11/90 and Richard (Ricky) who is 9 months old
9/11/93.
I am really glad that my husband showed me how to connect to misc.kids.
I have received some great advice for myself as well as friends of mine.
And hopefully I have given some useful advice in return.
Claudine Evans
--
Troy D. Evans - MacNetMgr - Evans-...@redstone-emh2.army.mil
MICOM's UNIX/PC/Macintosh Users Assistance Group - Redstone Arsenal Ala.
Adana Davis
occurred to me that I never officially introduced myself to the group so
here goes:
My name is Adana Davis. I'm a word processing specialist for Ohio State
University Extension. I started reading this newsgroup sometime in 1992
after a coworker told me about it (hi Cindy!) It really came in handy
during pregnancy #2.
I am a single parent to two beautiful, intelligent (who me, biased?)
children, Tiffany (just turned six - yeow!), and Jonathan (10 months). I
would like to say a big hello to all of the lurkers out there. I enjoy
hearing from all kinds of folks: older parents, grandparents,
not-yet-parents, single parents, married parents, etc. etc. etc.
CTTD: Jonathan is a comedian-in-training. He loves to make us laugh! His
latest trick is to make faces at us (though nothing like a "beawy scawey
monster bace"). He also enjoys a rousing game of peek-a-boo, especially
with his sister.
CTTS: Tiffany was watching a godzilla movie with her grandma. She asked
grandma if the people were Chinese. Grandma told her they were Japanese.
Tiffany said "that's ok. they all speak Spanish!" She seems to think the
only languages that exist are English/American and Spanish, which is odd
considering that her grandma is French!
Adana
Parent to Tiffany the Terrific (6-5-88)
and Jonathan the Jubilant (8-4-93)
misc.kidder since '92
pa. pg 31
John Hascall
But, a very enjoyable part of most evenings is listening to my
wife, Janeane, (this article is a followup to her intro) read
aloud from misc.kids. Isn't everyone's kitchen table a stop
on the infobahn? :)
Well, a bit about me -- I turn 0x20 on Friday (alas, the end of
my teens :) and I am head unix geek here at the ISU comp ctr.
Our son, David, was born 26-aug-93 after we sampled from just
about every possible pregnancy complication (the misc.kids FAQs
were so much a help and comfort here - thanks!).
CTTD: David seems to have (so far anyway) missed out on separation
anxiety -- he seems to know you just went somewhere else. We were
in the living room and I walked down the hall to the bath, pretty soon
I hear him crawling down the hall, I look over to the door way and
we just sneaks his head around the corner to peer in and gets a huge
grin on his face!
moreCTTD: At one end of the hall is a full length mirror and at the
other is the living room. One night I happened to be sitting at the
far end of the living room across from the hall and David had crawled
to the edge of the hallway:
| +------------
|me david |mirror
| +------------
and he just kept whipping his head back and forth looking at
the two daddys with this perplexed look on his face "When did
this 2nd daddy show up!?!". We were RotFL.
Thanks all for making misc.kids the best part of usenet,
John
PS, yes daddies get the nesting thing too (all new carpet, paint, a shed..)
--
John Hascall ``An ill-chosen word is the fool's messenger.''
Systems Software Engineer
Project Vincent
Iowa State University Computation Center + Ames, IA 50011 + 515/294-9551
Lisa Paton
My name is Lisa Paton and I've been reading misc.kids for nearly 6 years. I
don't generally have time to do a lot of posting since my Sys-Admin job keeps
me pretty busy (so other people around here can post :-().
My husbands name is Lee and we have a 2.75 year old daughter named Nicole.
I'm expecting my second child December 29 (this will be an interesting X-mas).
I love reading misc.kids and it's been a great source of information for me.
I appreciate all the time some of you put into answering the various questions
folks have. Even when most of us have heard it all before.
Charlie Towne
not :-)), but I don't post much. I've been reading, enjoying, and
learning from misc.kids for 5 years or so. I didn't get a chance to
post this yesterday, and it may get lost among all the others, but
anyway ...
I'm Charlie Towne, husband to Jane Bowditch and father to Eddie and
Kristen. I'm old (46) and prematurely gray; my wife is younger (almost
39); and the kids are even younger (5.75 and almost 3). I haven't
decided yet if the kids are adding to my gray hair, or keeping me
young.
I graduated from Rose Poly (now Rose-Hulman) in 1970, and immediately
started here at NASA Lewis, working in computational fluid mechanics.
Through graduate study programs here, I've picked up an M.S. from the
U. of Toledo and a Ph.D. from Purdue. Jane also graduated from Purdue,
in 1977. We were both at Purdue in 1974-75, but didn't meet until
1984, when her father (my former boss) introduced us. She currently
works for DEC as a software consultant/project manager.
Both Eddie and Kristen like being outdoors, swimming, riding their Big
Wheel and tricycle, going out onto Lake Erie on Grandpa's boat,
planting flowers with Mom, and exploring the ravine/woods behind our
house. Indoors they like reading (and/or being read to), using the
computer, watching videos, and alternating between bugging each other
and being best pals. Eddie's almost always happy, and Kristen's
finally started showing signs of emerging from the terrible twos!
Eddie just finished kindergarten and did great, despite being one of
the younger kids. Kristen just graduated yesterday from the toddler
room to the 3-4 year-old room at day care, and loves being in with the
"big kids".
Since I don't often post in any of the "serious" misc.kids threads,
here's a hodge-podge of how we'd fit in:
- We took Lamaze classes, and both kids were born after four hours
of "real" labor (my wife's word), without medication.
- Both kids were bottle-fed, and used (note past tense, yeah!)
disposable diapers.
- Both kids have been in the same day care since they were about two
months old, and they seem to be thriving there.
- We don't formally spank our kids, but we've sometimes used a little
swat to get their attention.
- We've never had a family bed, although both kids occasionally join
us for short times, especially close to morning.
- We've never read Ferber, but from what I've read here we've applied
some of his techniques.
- Both kids will most likely attend public schools.
- My wife and I enjoy an occasional night or weekend without the kids,
and so do they, but it's been quite a while since we've had one.
- We have a TV, and it's usually on in the evening, and occasionally
someone actually pays attention to it.
- We see nothing wrong with Barney, and singing the "I Love You" song
is part of the bedtime ritual with both kids.
--
Charlie Towne (PA p 161) Email: to...@lerc.nasa.gov
MS 5-11 Phone: (216) 433-5851
NASA Lewis Research Center
Cleveland, OH 44135
Jody L Kempf
on a half-time basis in January. I just found out that the baby is
probably in a breech position so I'm hoping it will decide to flip between
now and its arrival.
As a short CTTS, Linnea helped us come up with an unusual in-utero name
for the baby. We were getting silly at suppertime and she suggested
Ketchup would be a good name for the baby. We all agreed that we would
call it that in Mommy's tummy but would pick another name when it was
born. Mark and I have reserved the right to make that choice!
Reading misc.kids for the last 2 years has been a great way to feel like
we're not alone in the challenges we are facing. I hope to be able
to post in the future as soon as our home computer is resurrected or
replaced.
Jody Kempf
S. Gant
speradically for about 4 months. (I wish I had been reading in January when
I had to go through surgery with my 4 mo old son--I could have used you all
then.)
My family consists of Scott (see sig.), 32; and Kevin,9 months(9/17/93).
We are suburban Chicagoians. We have been married for 3 years.
Kevin was born weighing 6 lbs 0 oz, length 19 in. He now is 28 in, and
weighs in at 17 lbs 7 oz. He was born with an imperferate anus and had to
have a colostomy when he was 3 days old. His bowel was extremely short, so
when he had the pull down surgery in January, he also had to have the
colostomy reversed. (Poor kid had to poop where he had just had surgery).
Our main concerns right now are Diaper Rash, and getting enough sleep. I
am one of the ones continuing to post on the sleep wars (sorry). I am not
afraid to ask a stupid question, even if its been asked a zillion time
before. Mainly 'cause you guys is so wonderfully helpful!!
Kristen ( mommy to Kevin 9/17/93)
--
Scott Gant - music maker and nut.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams..."
Cynthia Hargroves
My name is Cynthia Hargroves and I live in Northern VA with my hubby
Brad.
I am more of a lurker these days, but I used to post on occasion. We
don't have kids yet. I used to post every so often, but lately I've
been busy with another group and with a mail group, both on adoption.
Not to mention that I do have to get some work done, so I only read for
a few minutes every once in awhile. I usually miss hundreds of notes.
So, when I have a chance, I skim through the messages and skip all the
pregnancy/birth messages (I used to read them all!). I've been around
for at least 1 year.
I figured I would post an "arrival" message and then I would be a more
active participant. So, for the next few months, I'll lurk when I can,
post if it seems relevant (if I'm not too late and its all been said).
I'll be back "full-time" to the group sometime soon.
Thank you for all the hints, advice, etc. I have been reading the
cloth-diaper thread recently, and will call some services in our area
this week. I've also gotten info. from FAQs, and want to thank all the
people that maintain them.
--
***
Cynthia Hargroves
cyn...@mitre.org
***
Scott Rautmann
I'm Scott Rautmann age 34, with Japanese-American wife Carrie age 34
and His Boyness, Tyler, age 18 mo. and two cats. We're family bed,
long term breast feeding, less protective than most, types of folks.
I've been reading m.k. for about 5 months. I was causing "trouble"
(read: expressing non-mainstream views) in the local childcare alias at
my site, and one of the m.k. regulars that also reads that local group
suggested I start reading here. More people, more fun, more
experiences and a lot more printouts so the wife can join in on the
juicy stuff. Sometimes we take up a whole evening talking about
something that comes up on the net. We love it.
I think there's some incredible learning going on inside Carrie and I
as parents. Watching Tyler and other children, listening to this group
and talking about what we see has really changed some of my own
internal thinking. Some of the things that come to mind:
The importance of being happy. Those little things that used to
irritate me sometimes now amuse me, just like they do Tyler.
Being able to distinguish what's *really* important from what's not
important. There isn't hardly anything in the house that I really
*have* to preserve. It's been incredibly hard to stop the knee-jerk
reaction of not allowing the boy to touch or handle something, when in
the end it doesn't really matter. I think we got rid of most of the
tantrum potential in changing our outlook here.
We've found children to be amazing competent, given the strongly set
expectation that they should be. We've found them to be very agreeable
to not being competent, given the expectation they shouldn't be, too.
Slowing down. It takes Tyler typically 30 seconds to respond to a
command, we've seen up to 5 minutes on complex ones. If I apply my own
timescale to his, I lose, and so does he. Now at times I feel like I've
shifted to hyper space when I come in to work some days.
So now all that's left is to have more kids and pursue a new career
running a Continuum Concept daycare and combination brewpub/hardware
store. Somehow I think the liability payments would kill it, though. ;-)
Scott
scott.r...@sun.com
Marilyn J. Barney
Hi! My name is Marilyn Barney--I've been reading misc. kids for about 3
months. I haven't really been lurking (I post several times a week when
things are running right at my access provider's site). I've been married
for 14 years to the same man and together we have 5 children (Kathleen-13,
Matthew-11, Megan-8, Bryan-5-3/4, and Colin-4). I am a stay-at-home parent
by choice, even though it's not always been easy financially, I know that
in my situation, it's been best for my kids. My husband's a programmer/
analyst with Boeing--he's the one who's taught me how to use the computer.
I wish I'd had access to misc.kids when I was a new parent--would've been
a great help (it still is!) when I was faced with all the problems the
first time out.
--Marilyn
Laura de Leon
and I do want to have kids someday (probably :-) ) but we aren't ready yet.
We met at Harvey Mudd College, and both work as Systems Administrators.
We are getting our toes wet for this parenting thing with our two cats,
Kitty and Smokey. (Smokey has feline leukemia, and we've lost two other
cats to it :-( ).
Although we aren't ready for our own kids yet, I think we are both ready
to get more involved with other people's kids, either by babysitting those
of people we know (anyone who knows me, and would trust me with their kids,
let me know) or by getting involved in some sort of volunteer organization.
I enjoy the CTTS/D and related posts. The birth stories make me consider
adoption rather than growing my own :-). In general, I like the posts
that give me a glimpse of people's lives, and how they cope with all of
the different kinds of situations that come up.
One subject I'm interested in seeing more about is multi-cultural families.
My husband was born in the Philippines, and I'd like to make sure our
children have a chance to learn about that culture, and that aspect of
their heritage, but I'm not sure how.
I'll probably remain a lurker for a while, since I don't know that much
about kids yet. I thought about going to the last Bay area misc.kids
picnic, but I wasn't sure that childless lurkers were welcome. (It's
been a while-- I'll help organize the next one if it means I'll be "allowed"
to come.) I do like seeing the other childless people unlurk, it makes
me feel less out of place.
laura de leon
del...@hpl.hp.com
MadisAnne
late.
I'm Anne Spurgeon, mom to Nate (Nathaniel-4/29/89) and Joseph
(El-Destructo-7/26/91). We live in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin
(well, it's nice this time of year, anyway). I'm 30, a PhD student
in American History and just ended a three year leave of absence by
passing my oral exams (yippee!). My husband of almost 8 years is
David Woods, 32, a psychologist and A-1 daddy.
I've posted a couple of times, but mostly just lurked for 5 months or
so, reading the comments here. We're all going through so many of
the same joys and trials, it's very nice to get ideas and just
thoughtful reassurance from other parents. We had a wonderful
home-birth with Joseph, but otherwise are pretty normal :-)
I think the photo album sounds like a great idea, and hope to keep
participating here for many years to come. We'll be facing new
situations in the fall (all-day kindergarten for Nate and some out of
home care for Joseph) so I'll really need support very soon!
Here's to a great summer!
Anne
PS--CTTS from our house--I'm usually pretty particular about videos,
but in a weak moment I bought a couple of old Jetsons videos. Now
when I divert Joseph from something he shouldn't be doing or give him
a time-out, he yells in a booming voice, "You're fired! You are
fired!!" Yep, Cosmo G. Spacely, age 2 1/2, and I'm poor old George
Jetson.
Valerie Bock
I guess I'd better step up too!
I am Valerie Bock, stay at home mom to Jimmy, 7; Stephen, 5-1/2; and Katie
3. I am married to Jim who is a physician in family practice in our central
Illinois town of about 80,000. We live out in the country, and my kids
attend a small, rural school.
In a previous life, I was an MBA student, and later a commercial banker. My
true love has always been computers though...I've been a geek since 6th
grade. I taught intro to PC's and robotics to auto workers part time after
Jimmy and Stephen were born...a high point of the pregnancy with Steve was
my students' offer to perform the first robotically assisted deliver, if I
would be so kind as to labor at the Chrysler plant!
I volunteer for the YMCA, the medical society alliance, the Children's
Museum of Illinois, and am very proud of doing the corporate fundraising
for the Robert Leathers community-built playground here a few years ago.
I am also slowly launching a computer consulting business, but am taking my
time, because I prefer to be flexible for the kids.
In case you couldn't tell, I love it here!
Valerie
********************************************************************
* Valerie C. Bock * Mom to Jimmy, 7; Stephen, 5; Katie 3 *
* vb...@delphi.com * (It's the go nuts now, go broke later plan!) *
********************************************************************
Andy.B...@coat.com
I'm Andy Behrens, a first-time dad at the age of 44. I manage
wide-area networks for a chain of clothing stores. My wife Eva is a
pediatric nurse. We both have net access, but Eva would rather spend
her spare time gardening than reading net news.
Our daughter Emma, who is now 10 weeks old, loves listening to music,
and she's already been to her first folk festival.
Next week Eva is going back to work part-time, and I'll be at home
taking care of Emma two days a week (while I attempt to telecommute).
Andy <andy.b...@coat.com>,
Eva <eva.b...@dartmouth.edu>, and
Emma Alexandra Behrens
--
Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty. (Anne Herbert)
Andy Behrens
P.O. Box 116, South Strafford, Vt. (802) 765-4138
Burlington Coat Factory, Schoolhouse Rd., Etna, N.H. 03750 (603) 643-2800
MargAret D Gibbs
Unlurking on misc.kids:
The future child of Margaret & Tony Gibbs. Peanut has been stretching
out Margaret's stomach steadily for the last 17 weeks, and is now
ready to make hir debut on m.k.! Recently, Margaret & Tony saw Peanut
(a most photogenic child, BTW) making faces at them, thanks to the
work of an ultrasound technician. Peanut is very active, and likes to
suck hir thumb! Everything looks good for hir appearance later this
year - possibly around Thanksgiving time. (Margaret & Tony know how
babies make their own schedules, tho! :-))
Oh, and Margaret is unlurking, too! I've been reading misc.kids for a
little over a year now, tho I've been reading and posting on other
newsgroups for about 4 years... when I first lurked here, I was
pregnant with my first child, Lisaan. My sister (Amy Reibman) posted
shortly afterwards (Lisaan died of SIDS last August when she was
less than 2 days old), to ask for advice on how to help me (and
her) through our sorrow. Many of you wrote to her, and it really
helped. I've felt uncomfortable posting since then (tho I've
emailed some of you), but Beth Weiss wrote me some nice email the
other day, and that in conjunction with "unlurker's day" has made me
brave enough to unlurk.
CTTD: Well, I thought Peanut's sucking hir thumb was pretty cute, but
I'm sure sie has a lot more in store for us in the future!
--
Margaret D. Gibbs "Practice random kindness and
Assistant Staff senseless acts of beauty"
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
gib...@ll.mit.edu
Karen Cook
I'm an analyst/programmer at the University of Melbourne.
I've been a lurker on misc.kids since 1990 and have posted perhaps
6 times all up. And unlike some who have already commented on this,
I actually don't mind being called a "lurker"! I've been called worse! :-)
Misc.kids is one of the two groups I read during my lunch hour every
working day.
I don't have children of my own, am not entirely sure I want any,
and there's a distinct possibility that I will never have any.
So why am I reading misc.kids at all? Because I have been battling severe
endometriosis for 5 years, without much success, and two specialists
who have operated on me at different times, and seen the damage it
has caused, have both advised me that if I want children at all I should
start not in five years, not in one year, but right now.
The thing is, I just don't feel ready for children yet. I've been waiting
for the maternal urge to kick in for several years now, but it hasn't so far.
I *think* I would like to have children... but I suspect I'm in love with
the idea of having children, ie. having this adorable little creature who
loves me, and not the reality - broken sleep, dirty nappies, teething,
toddler tantrums, rebellious teenagers...
And I sometimes get so sick of the endo, the pain, the treatment, the side
effects, and the disruption it causes to my life, that I think I should just
have a hysterectomy and be done with it. But if I do, will I be overwhelmed
with maternal urges in five years' time and regret that I had it done?
On the other hand, if I deliberately try to get pregnant now, just to be on
the safe side, when I'm not entirely sure I want a baby at all... is that fair
on the baby? And would I regret *that* decision five years from now?
So back and forth I go, confused, angry, frustrated, overwhelmed...
and misc.kids helps me sort out how I feel about having children,
by giving me some idea of what it would be like. (Someone mentioned
alt.infertility, but I don't have access to it.)
I've discussed all this many times with Andrew, my partner of 9 years.
He doesn't care one way or the other if we ever have kids, but doesn't
particularly want them right now. In other words, he feels much the same
way as I do! Perhaps if he were more strongly pro- or anti-, it might
make my decision easier...
I don't post on misc.kids as often as I'd like to. Partly because of time -
I'm restricted to my lunch hour - and partly because I don't have children
of my own. I'm worried about someone responding "and what would YOU know
about it?", so I tend to confine my posts to subjects in which I have
personal experience (eg. what it's like to have a laparoscopy). I'll post
more often if I can. I'm glad this unlurking thread was suggested, and
curious to see just how many of us lurkers there are.
Cheers,
Karen
--
Karen Cook (ka...@asis.unimelb.edu.au)
ASIS, University of Melbourne, Australia
Kelly Fanto
Hi all!
I am mostly a lurker, occassional poster. My name is Kelly, my
husband's is Jim. We have a 2yo son, James, and 2 cats, Yippee and
Yahoo (named them after a late party, a good thing we didn't have a
party the night James was born!)
I am a Software Engineer and my husband is in sales in the electrical
contracting, energy conservation field. Right now we live on Long
Island, NY but will be relocating to Melbourne, FL in 2 weeks where I
hope to get net access quickly! (I'd love to meet/chat with any
misc.kidders from the area)
I've been reading this group for about 1.5 years and have found it to
be very enlightening, educational and entertaining.
CTTD: My mom swore I had no idea what my sons eating habits were...
Every time she was watching him, I would bring foods he liked.
He would usually NOT eat them. This weekend my husband and I
went to FL househunting and my Mom watched James for the
weekend. The first night James picked every piece of broccoli
out of the pasta salad and ate it. The next night, my Mom made
broccoli especially for James - "No like broci, no like!"
This is a great group! Thanks!
Kelly
ke...@gdstech.grumman.com
--
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
| Kelly Fanto | ke...@gdstech.grumman.com | The usual |
| Grumman Data Systems | | disclaimer |
| 1111 Stewart Ave MS:D12-025 | Voice: (516) 346-6758 | statement |
Lisen Troutman
I know I missed the Official Unlurking Day, but I'd like to introduce myself.
My name is Lisen Troutman. I've been reading for about 2 years, and I really enjoy this newsgroup. I don't post very often (maybe 2-3 times total), and I don't email as often as I used to (hi Anne!). Life has brought many wonderful changes all at once!
The changes?
Well, I just got married about 2 months ago! I started a new job (so did my husband Tom), we just moved to a new home, and my son just started a new preschool! (Do I have enough excuses for not posting enough? 8-)
My son, Phillip, is 4 YO, and more than I ever hoped for! He really likes his new preschool, and has adjusted so well to all the many changes going on!
I don't know what else to say... but that I have really enjoyed all the help that I've gotten. I hope to participate more as time permits, and if I find I have anything to say!
Oh, and one more word about my son (is it just me?) it seems that every new age he reaches becomes my favorite age for him! He learns so much more independenceand becomes more himself each day. What an amazing process that I have the priviledge to watch, and participate in! WOW!
So long for now!
Lisen Troutman
Lisen Troutman
st89...@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu
"Kindly do not confuse the issue with facts, my dear."
Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins
Mary Lee Carlomagno
I have posted once but I never introduced myself. My name is Mary Lee
Carlomagno. I am an electrical engineer. I have a 2-1/2 year old daughter
named Kimberly. She is a doll. I am also expecting my second. The baby is
due the day after Christmas. (great planning!). I work part time and I think
so far I have had a pretty good setup. Don't know what will happen with baby #2.
I posted once asking about chicken pox. I am one of those adults who never
contracted the illness. My daughter was exposed just after I found out I was expecting.
In the first trimester of pregnancy chicken pox can do some damage to the fetus.
I chose to be cautious and I stayed away from my daughter from days 10 to 21 after
her exposure. It was hard but I knew if something happened to the baby I would forever
regret it. Well Kimberly did not come down with the chicken pox. I do have to say that since
then I have run into people in public with children obviously covered in chicken pox. My
reaction is to grab Kimberly and RUN in the opposite direction. I am amazed that people
don't have more courtesy. To an unprotected mother or a seriously ill person exposure
can be quite serious.
OH, I also have a husband, Ernie and a 215 pound dog Sampson (A Newfoundland).
Laurie Fernald
a Software Engineer at Intermetrics in Cambridge, MA and recently received
my Master Degree in Computer Science at Univ. of MA at Lowell. My husband
Jim is a Mechanical Engineer and works in Waltham, MA. We have been
married for 2 years, but have know each other for 10 yrs. We are high
school sweethearts. We live in a very, very small town in southern NH
(4 miles by 8 miles) near Mt. Monadnock (about an 1 hr and 15 mins from
Cambridge). We have two "kids", BJ and Bear. They are identical twins and
are part Golden Retriever and part Chow. They look like a large Golden
Retriever and have a Golden Retriever personality.
I read misc.kids for family members and friends, but mostly for myself.
I really enjoy the cute things the kids do/say and YKYAPW. I have posted
and emailed a couple of times, but I am definitely do not post a regularly.
Eventually, we plan on having children. For now, we "rent" our nieces
and nephews for a few days. ;)
CTTD (of course it would be CTTS! ;)):
I was washing the sliding glass door on the outside and BJ and Bear were on
the inside watching me. I sprayed the glass with Windex and started wiping.
They very intently watched my hand move over the glass...up, down, up, down,
side to side, up, down, up, down, around and around, started writing the
alphabet (A, B, C, D, ...). I was ROTFL!!!