Congratulations!!! I know that's all I want for Christmas..for my almost 20-year-old to get a job

• I got the best Christmas present today, - mlstoo
  • I got a similar wonderful gift yesterday...sm - MT
  • Congratulations!!! I know that's all I want for Christmas..for my almost 20-year-old to get a job - OldiebutgoodieMT

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Was it that bad financially?  Christmas is not supposed to be about gifts; it's about spending it with your loved ones and celebrating the religious aspect of it.  Money or not, we celebrate it every year.  It really saddens me that you feel this way.  Please share your situation, maybe we can come up with some suggestions to help. 

...yep, I'm feeling sorry for myself.  I didn't receive a single Christmas card or gift.  My only child and I decided to forego gifts for each other and just concentrate on providing gifts for my granddaughter.   A friend said she would call last week and we'd go to lunch, but I never heard anything else from her. Makes me realize I really have no friends and am not worth remembering.  Just a card would have made me feel better.

On top of that, I fear I'm going on such thin ice with both of my part-time jobs that I'm afraid every day I go in, I'll be called into the supervisor's office and fired.  I just can't keep up with the transcription as well as the other part-time person has done.  I'm in debt--really have not had a good-paying job in 2 years and things have built up on credit cards.  I used to think I was pretty intelligent--but now have doubts about that, even.  I'm ashamed about my predicament and have avoided people for over a year, so I'm sure that's part of my isolated feeling.  What can I do?

I thought it might be a good idea to post ideas for gifts that are inexpensive. I have made a few Christmas gifts in years past, but, since I've already given these particular gifts and my family members already "have one", I need new ideas!

I will start with the ideas of gifts I have given in the past:

I made family wreaths for each of my kids (grown). What I did was, buy a nice size wreath at the craft store, purchase inexpensive small frames at the dollar store (or wherever I could find them), made copies of baby pictures of my kids when they were little, family picture, pics of the grandbabies, etc. and framed each one - wired each framed photo onto the wreath, put in some berry sprays or whatever, and a 20 count string of white lights and some ribbon. Then I sprayed them with spray glue and sprinkled with the white snow stuff. Also, I put a few blank frames with Christmas card fronts so that they could add pics from the inlaws (who I did not have pics as children) and new baby pics as appropriate.

They were darling! My daughter in law actually cried when I gave them their wreath!

I also made a similar thing for my mom - I made her a Grandchildren tree - because she has too many grandchildren to get all their pics on a wreath. I just purchased a small, prelit tree from Wal - Mart, and basically, did the same thing - framed pics of all the grandchildren and children, glued ribbon to the back of the frames - hung them like ornaments, added some ribbon and some berry sprays. It was beautiful and she has used it every year since, because it is small and she can put it together herself - without much work.

I will post more ideas in a little bit, but, I need other ideas from all of you - because, how many memory or family wreaths can you give . . .

Christmas is next week.  Got pix of the family to put in the cards, and tons of Christmas cards from last year's Christmas sales.  Every day, I say, I will do these cards.  At least to grandma and grandpa on both sides.  Every day, I put it off.  DH got a roll of stamps and he has the cards sitting on his nightstand with pix, he has not done any either. 

Thus far we got several newsletters from people, saying they did this, they did that, they celebrated this birthday, their kid did this and that.  We don't plan to do a newsletter this year, b/c it seems to me these newsletters sound so self-centered! They are not even from family members, they are from DH coworkers and such.

My friends send me e-cards pretty much or we chat over the I-net.  We send holiday greetings and catch up that way.  My son will be getting grandma and grandpa's on both sides presents the end of the week, and I think I will just put the pictures in the packages when I send and forget about the cards.

This is really sad.  Years ago, Dec 1 we'd get a bunch of cards and have ours sent out.  Different colors of ink on the envelopes, red and green, holiday stamps, it would be so fun.  All the cards we'd get my dad or I would put on a board in shape of a tree and we'd put it on the wall. 

Now, it seems with snail mail, and so many other worries about cutting budget, finding enough work, I am not in the mood to write cards.  Maybe it will become a thing of the past, and the boxes of cards will accumulate dust in the top of the closet.

Anybody else in this predicament? Thanks in advance for sharing your card stories.

She sounds like a sweetie pie!  I remember housebreaking can be pretty frustrating but what about those training pads that they sell at pet stores or Walmart?  Another idea is to put a bell on the door handle (believe it or not) and have her touch it and then go outside with her.  She associates the ring with going potty and eventually will ring it herself to be let out.  I've heard it works!  I'm so excited for her and so happy she has a good home because it does sound as though she wasn't treated very well by a man before you got her.  Makes me sick to my stomach how mean people can be.

I am of the understanding now that if someone gets another wonderful job, so they say, so many oohs and aaahs and congrats to you.

When I posted on here about a week or so ago about doubling my money due to receiving my full retirement benefits and still working, it was so quite could hear a pin drop.

I am thinking jealousy has a lot of green-eyed monsters on here.

Speaking from experience, I found breast feeding to be the most difficult part of being a new mom.  Don't get me wrong -- I wholeheartedly believe in, but it just wasn't for me.  It seemed to add to my postpartum depression by making me feel like I couldn't leave my baby even for a minute.  I also felt that it took longer than it should.  I have 3 children.  With my first, I breastfed for about 6 weeks until I went back to work.  With my second, I only breast fed 2 weeks, realizing that it was contributing to my postpartum depression.  With my 3rd child, I didn't breast feed at all and I didn't seem to have near the postpartum depression. 

I'm not saying that you shouldn't breast feed.  It's a personal choice.  For me, it just didn't work.  I also think you really need to talk to your OB immediately about postpartum depression.  I know it's real because I went through it.  If you were on birth control before and you've yet to resume it, I would suggest speaking to your OB about restarting that.  It can really help to regulate some of your hormones.  Also, sleep when your baby sleeps.  You need your rest so you can be a better mom.  I would also see if a family member would be willing to watch her for a few hours while you're working.  Most people adore babies, so I'll bet there are people just waiting to help.  If you don't live near family, you could probably have a teenager come into your home a few hours during the day to sit with her while you work. 

There are lots of people who would be willing to help.  Just talking to other moms was a big comfort for me.  Strap her in the buggy and walk to your nearest park!  Good luck and congratulations!  Everything you are feeling is normal, but you should still speak with your OB about postpartum depression. 

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For odds and ends, don't forget to check Craig's list!  I mentioned it to my daughter, and I've created a monster.  She's gotten a free dishwasher, free stove, and gotten new bathroom sinks for her house complete with faucets for $10 each from somebody on the list that just moved into a (new) house and decided to have the sinks upgraded.  

I like to visit Home Depot, Lowe's, and various wallpaper stores frequently, and pick up their discontinued borders  and rolls of wallpaper for @ $1.00 each.  If you know the square footage you need to cover, you may be able to do a room for as little as $5.00 instead of $250.  Of course whenever my kids are redecorating, they go to my storage cabinets, find something that suits them,  and take my finds home for free.   

I do the same thing in the paint departments there and at Benjamin Moore.  I'll find already mixed paint that somebody has decided that they don't like and, as long as it is an attractive color and a good quality paint, I'll pick it up for $3 or so per gallon.  I do decorative and faux finish effects and always like to have a variety of colors in stock at my house for raw materials and am not afraid to mix paint colors to achieve the exact color I want.  

As for the house, congratulations! I'm a huge believer in sweat equity.

She sounds sweet!  I swear by a liquid called Ration Plus.  I first got it for my equines who had weight problems and gas.  It's a prebiotic that works in their hindgut to regulate things...makes food stick to the ribs and helps with things like diarrhea and gas.  I also give it to my dogs now and again and even my old senior cat.  I put it right on their food and they gobble it right up.

HOWEVER, it does not state anywhere on their website or the label that it is appropriate for cats.  I just wrote to them actually, just now, to find out if it was safe for felines.  I know I've been feeding it to my cat now for over a year, one or two times a week as a top dressing on his food, and haven't had any problems and he looks great.  I will let you know what they say about it.

Fantastic results and a bottle lasts a long, long time. 

Here's their company website: http://www.rationplus.com/dog.html
but I buy it from pet places because it's usually cheaper that way.