Grandma, congratulations. If there ever were a change in someone's life, not only becoming a parent, but becoming a GRAND parent is incredible. What a sweet little girl.
She's going to be very lucky to have you, your love and your wisdom.

Terri - Congratulations! She is sooo very cute. Happy Birthday to her. Does she have a name. Hope mom and dad are doing well.

I have a niece and nephew, they're brother and sister, both born on Valentine's Day, exactly two years apart. Today they are 22 and 24.

Her name is Quinncee Rose. She was almost a pound larger than her daddy and a half inch longer. Her stats were: 18.5" 6lbs 2.6oz. She was 13 days early he was 3.5 weeks early.

I think he's texted me 25 times since her birth 6 hours ago how beautiful she is. Lol

Parents are exhausted....but over the moon in love.

Terri- Yay!!!! So happy she arrived, and on Valentines day of all days, a little love baby. So wonderful!!

As to change, I've always been the worrier and my husband has always been the port in the storm.

He is three sheets to the wind, overly optimistic and I am the cautious worry wart. I suppose it makes us a great team though!

I've been through a lot of "unplanned" life changes and, while I initially worry about them, I think I have adapted well to all of them.

Unwelcome, unpleasant changes like a cancer DX as a newlywed were very difficult, unplanned but entirely welcome changes like a surprise pregnancy very easy.

I think it all boils down to how it affects us or how we perceive it to affect us.

When my grandfather was dxed with Alzheimer's and my parents had to move in with him to care for him and asked me if I would move into their home so it wouldn't sit vacant, I was very hesitant.

It meant selling my home to care for theirs with no potential timeline. Could be 10 months, could be 10 years.

Now, 5 years later, that change (combined with my husbands parents having to do the same thing) forced ALL of us to reevaluate our priorities.

We all realized that when the time came, my parents didn't want to be in a nursing home and I don't want them there either. We didn't want to have to leave our home to move in to care for them and they wouldn't want to leave their home to move in with us.

That "temporary" move to watch their house has turned into my permanent home with us building an addition for them to live in.

We will be close, but not "living together" per set, they will be accustomed to seeing me frequently so that if/when they suffer from memory problems, it won't be weird. They get to age in place, I won't have to ever leave my home to care for them and the only point where they will need a nursing home is if they get to a point where they need round the clock care.

That unexpected change that I was initially hesitant about has reshaped the future of my entire family for the better.

Some days I am very annoyed by it, but what can you expect, living in almost constant renovation for close to 2 years, yes Christine, I know you've got me beat by a long shot ;)

I remind myself that I won't truly appreciate all the unexpected changes until 25-30+ years from now, when my parent/s need the kind of care my grandfather and my husbands grandmother needed and we DON'T have to relocate our life to care for them. My kids get to grow up with VERY involved grandparents, something I never had, and I get to be there to take care of them. All around its a win win.

@Sombreuil - I do the same on a smaller scale. I'm sure at some point in time someone out there thought that all of the changes that I've undone were awesome. Fake parquet files applied to heart pine flooring, nine layers of paint over cypress trim on a craftsman house, removing two closets and a built in hamper in order to add a hallway, or four layers of paint on the oak and cedar garage doors at our place. It makes no sense to me but it's nice to undo it.

@terri - congratulations!!! Someone's birthday is going to be extra fun since it falls on a holiday.

@CEF - change is generally good or at least two steps forward/one step back, but lately it's kept me from being able to do things that need to get done (measure the drawer is one of them). Our valentines day plans had to be redone from square one and that consumed all of my time that wasn't spent at work. Not fun, and next year I'm making reservations at a more established place so this kind of craziness doesn't happen again. We went from having everything figured out -> panic -> I'll cook something/no, that won't work -> putting something together at the last minute. Our evening wrapped up with us watching Parks and Rec. Not the greatest valentine's day we've had.

So far as things at home go, just since getting to work at 5 this morning the temperature has already dropped another 10 degrees so I think indoor activities are in order for today. Cleaning and if I'm lucky, designing the fence and maybe even putting some more research into the upcoming bathroom project will be on today's accomplishments list.

Congratulations Terri!

Terri! She's so tiny and perfect!! You must be so excited to go meet her!

Texas, I never really knew any of my grandparents so I'm jealous of your kids. I had one Gramma and she lived very, very far away from us. Now my kids are in the same situation with my parents being very, very far away. I hate it. We are near my ex-MIL but she doesn't come to any soccer/hockey games or anything. They do go to her house after school when they are with their Dad. I'm trying to teach them to treat her better than he does seeing as he pulled the "my mother is getting old" card to move us to this province from the one I was quite happy and grew up in.

Change is inevitable, resist all you want but you'll just give yourself an ulcer. LOL.

CEF, I do use the tab button all the time. It is such a timesaver. Imagine going from a screen that is horizontal with only about 5-10 things to fill in and then you go forward through four screens. Now it's a vertical monitor with four sections and each section has about 10 file folder tabs and each one of those file folders has 6-8 selections underneath that. You go from the top box, to the middle box then change file folders go to the top middle box, something you enter there will change the lower middle box, and now the bottom row is two boxes, not one. It's an onslaught of stuff we never had to see before. Quite overwhelming, but once you realize we use the same 12 file folder tabs and not much else, it's much easier. Some of the boxes you must use the mouse because in order to enter your data you have to click a mini search button. The lag time is incredible for someone who wants instant results! (aka me). A document that used to take 3 minutes took me 18 minutes. And that's the fastest anyone on my shift schedule has done it. So many people flip back to the old program because they don't want to make the clients wait. Well, soon that's going to be gone and you're going to be screwed!

Terri, congrats to your family, your little darling is perfectly adorable! Being a GM, IMO, is the greatest gig in the world!

Here is another take on change. This year I decided to put the Ghandi quote about being the change you want to see in the world, into play at my workplace. Instead of just complaining about things, I took it upon myself to be the "positive" change. Doing this has made me exceedingly more happy at my work, it seems to have made some who were mildly unhappy more happy (at least for short periods), had some effect on administrators changing their "us vs. them" style of management, and had almost no effect on those diehard complainers. Overall, I'm extremely happy with my choice to "be the change".

Congrats, Terri. Changing from Mom to Grandma is one of the best changes of all. So they tell me. Enjoy!

@Christina , I think you'll get more responses about your design questions if you start a new discussion about it.

@daisychain - I love what you did. Cool that it's working out.

Congratulations Terri! So cute!

Daisy - love that quote. Be the change

CEF - great thread and no nerves hit here. It is great to vent and understand each other. And it is freaking cold in Michigan as well. Glad I am not in the Canadian Soo this week as the temps were down to -25F/-32C with wind chills to blow right through you!

Very happy for you, Terri. What fun to watch this great mystery unfold before your eyes and you don't have to change all those diapers!

I do check the news occasionally and see what everyone is going through this winter east of the Rockies. I'm so sorry that something can't be done. Just take solace that your misery is our bliss here in the Pacific Northwest (except for skiers, of course). We've had shirtsleeve weather for a month-and-a-half now. Our heat barely kicks on.

Well, I just wrapped up a full week, including Saturday, of 12 hour workdays. Valentine's Day and our 28th anniversary was yesterday. I was so tired that we did not do anything. We both agreed it's not like anything special needed to be done anyway.

Oh, I did a trial fit of the first piece of trim on the two cabinets bases I installed in the closet, kind of a toe kick with a leg. The length was 1 inch short and the leg that was supposed to be centered under the break between the two cabinets was off by 2 inches...sigh. I thought it was going so well (that's always a red flag for me). Now I have to make another piece, this time paying attention to what I am doing.

Terri....congratulations.....what a beautiful grand baby!

I think change is harder the older we get for most people. I was much more spontaneous and up for anything in my 20's than I am now. And I remember my parents in their 70's were totally ingrained in their little routines and would get upset if there were changes, especially mom. I freaked out initially on Monday when I logged in to GW, but am fairly comfortable now not even a week in. When I calmed down, I realized the format doesn't matter as long as WE are all still here chatting.

Teri, Congratulations! What a beautiful baby.

Christine, Cabelas has flannel-lined and fleece-lined jeans (I have both). They are on sale right now!

Flannel-lined jeans

It's a washing machine scandal! Did you guys see this? Who knew how cut throat the appliance business is.

LG vs Samsung indictment

Well I am lounging in our hotel room in Portland..we went down to Voodoo Donuts..the area is quite an experience at night. The doughnuts are awesome. The line was 45 min long. My boys have never experienced a location like Portland China Town.

I will try and convince the big guy to hit Ikea tomorrow and pick up a door for draging around while picking out finishes.

Ooooh, Voodoo Donuts. I'm drooling. My son lived in Portland for a few years and we hit Voodoo most visits and sometimes he would bring us some when he came home. Enjoy your tax-free shopping trip!

Yes, that is the best part..tax free...Picked up a door. Bodbyn Gray. I thought I wanted the double apron sink...but that sucker was huge...so scratch that, it was good to see it in person. Probably won't even go apron either now. :)

That washing machine scandal story is crazy. Who knew, indeed?

I think Terri_pacNW wins the prize for the very best change. Congratulations to you and your family!

Cabella's. Check.

(Yurt Yurt Yurt)

Michigan. Check. Talked to my sister in E. Lansing yesterday. Temperature was -13 and as they say, "Felt like -31." I asked her to remind me why she chose to visit up there in THIS season?"

Tab key. Check. Hang in there.

Grandbaby. Check. OoooOOooooooo every time I look at the picture I melt. Winner Winner!

Being the change. Check. Huge deal. But making a conscious effort also gives you the opportunity to be aware of your effect on people. Or not. :) There will always be those that are extremely happy with their job, because they (italicize) always have something to complain about. Which is why they never leave, despite their obvious misery. Awareness gives you the opportunity to direct (not control) your environment and how people respond to you. Incredible choice on your part.

Procrastination. CHECK CHECK CHECK. I have so much to do and no drive to get out whatever it is to finish whatever project over which I'm ruminating.

Yurt Yurt Yurt. Check. (which I actually believe is spelled "Yirt.")

I hate snow.

Oh dear, like a song, I've gotten yurt stuck in your head.

So, tell me about your yurt experience. Maybe that will help.

Teri - congratulations :-). What an adorable baby / photo and what a wonderful change in life. Wishing the little one all blessings in her life.

In my profession (emergency management) I unfortunately often see the people struggling with the result of change which has been thrust upon them by some sort of disaster. But when we hear from people after a disaster, the vast majority are asking about help for someone else, not for themselves. Gives one hope for the human race.

With regard to lined jeans, I will see your Cabela's and raise you L. L. Bean. Although I have to admit their sale isn't presently as good, their jeans wear like iron.

Lined jeans

I considered cutting holes in flannel pillow cases and putting my legs in them, tucking them into my socks at the bottom and pinning them to my underwear at the top. Add jeans and Ta DA!!!! I'll let you know how that goes.

lcm_maine, it (underline) does give one hope for mankind. :)

"Yurt," she whispered.

Okay, so I was following this thread but missed a few posts. So I thought I would scroll down and read from the bottom up. I almost died laughing reading about the flannel pillowcases without the context of the previous posts. Then I still laughed, even after I knew why you were talking like a crazy lady (cause really, what appropriate context is there for pinning pillowcases to your underwear?)

This thread is coming at a very appropriate time for me! I accept change, and for the most part, do it gracefully. I'm about to venture out on another, what I consider *big* change, by moving out of what is really my dream house! Each time I say it, I feel it helps me get used to the idea, since I had no intention of ever moving, staying put until my ashes would go into a nice container that i've personally chosen.

And the reason is, my DD and family moved 50 minutes away so the kids could go to schools which have an exemplary curriculum~they had been going to private schools for the last two years. I originally made the move to Austin to be close to DD/family, but never saw this coming, and frankly, neither did they. DD and I were very close before we all moved here, so this also throws a monkey wrench into our wanting to spend time together, as well as my Grands. They've been a very important part of my life since the day they came into the world, and those relationships are more important than any house.

I'm sure you wonder why I feel I need to make this move, and it's because i'm 72 years old, and while I think i'm a *young* 72, realistically I AM 72!! All my neighbors work, and while I have 3 that i'm friendly with, would never want to depend on them. I know if it were a serious issue I could call 911, but just a flu bug can put anyone out of commission for a few days, which is when having family close really comes in handy (as well as borowing cat food).

Change? Yeah, i'm always game!

So we are home...

Patty Cakes, I get what you are feeling. Those 4 hours between us and my most stunning rosebud lipped grand daughter sucks! This summer we will be taking our second son even more hours away to WAZZU. At the moment that same kid is thinking about finishing his college education out of country! What the heck am I supposed to do? I'll still have one at home for a while..

But I have to say..I love my home and could not have been more happy when we hit Tacoma and there were the Olympics on the left...and a beautiful bald eagle flying around...then a few more miles and mountain ranges visible on both sides of us! And more eagles... HOME... Although the mountains tops look like August. :(

OT Terri_PacNW, I'm in Vancouver. B.C. and as you know the weather was stunning today. I was walking the seawall and we could see Mt. Baker in the distance - yep, the weather was that clear and gorgeous. I could see snow on it! No snow on our local ski hills - but there was snow there. although that was probably glacier snow which I actually skied a number of years ago.

I don't know how the low snow packs will play out this year with respect to water restrictions and forest fires. We'd better hope for a really, really wet spring.

Oh, Terri, you adjust. My son is in his third year working overseas. Skype is amazing to keep in touch. And we instant message on FB all the time. And since he's gone to a different country each year, it makes it easy for us to plan vacations! We've gone places we never would have imagined to see him as he has not worked in countries that would have been at the top of our vacation list. But it's all good because those places were amazing.

At least you have the new grand to keep you company if he does go overseas. Four hours will seem close compared to your son!

bifenton, I'm on the WA state coast and I sat on my patio this afternoon and was totally warm enough without a jacket. Just a long-sleeved shirt I feel guilty enjoying this wonderful warmth when they're suffering with so much snow back East. Well, maybe just a little guilty, lol. And, yes, we better hope for a wet spring, dagnabit anyway! I wish it could be like this all year.

Today is the opposite of change. I drove our old car (not quite vintage Volvo) to work today and checked in for a flight this morning. I used to spend >200 days/year on the road so it reminded me of so many work trips, only this time with 4 extra screens about prohibited items that should not be packed. I guess the gasoline and ninja stars have to stay home. :(

All I can say is the weather on Vancouver Island better be nice when I go home in August for a visit! You guys are having the best weather right now! But the good news is, I'm not digging out from 6 feet of snow in PEI, I'm just waiting not so patiently for the weather to warm up and the snow to melt.

Baker is almost always..bright white..our vantage point allows us to see a larger portion of it and yes, she's got a lot less snow than she should.

But she's always gorgeous.

You can see Baker from Tacoma?

Yes-the weather here (eastern WA) has been so unusually warm and dry-beautiful, but no new snow in the mountains for weeks, so no skiing :-( Went over Snoqualmie Pass a few weeks ago and it was very sad looking.

DD2 lives in Bellingham and the one day it didn't rain when we were there gave us beautiful views of Baker. Great mountain.

So this no snow mid-winter is a change that I both welcome and dislike. Hiking (vs) skiing in Feb.

Change is hard.

That's been our mantra at my workplace after our company was acquired, then two years later merged with another company. We went from a company of 1,500 to one of 17,000 employees, in which my business area feels like the bastard stepchild. We had only just migrated our IT and processes under the acquisition when the merger was announced. So when the big boss came to discuss the merger, my questions were all of a practical day-to-day nature: Will we be getting new report templates? Business cards? Is IT going to change again? Those are the things that cause me stress.

At my previous job, I had a series of management changes that was pretty stressful. A boss (who had been managing me for several years and who everyone liked) ended up with a lengthy remote posting. He managed remotely for almost a year, but then he left and we had an interim manager for about a year. At that point, the company assigned us a new permanent manager. When that manager told us he was leaving (after about a year), everyone was poleaxed. One of my colleagues got very upset (actually, everyone was upset, but she expressed it more strongly than the rest of us), to the point where one of my manager's manager's got involved. The instability in our situation had just really gotten to everyone on team. Because...everyone join in now...change is hard.

I don't hate change on general principles, but when change is imposed on you from outside, it is pretty much always stressful. That's true whether the change is ultimately good, bad, or indifferent.

Leela- NO SNOW, until I know if have to move. NO SNOW!!! LOL

I do not like change...and I HATE change that is not well planned!

Now, IMPROVEMENTS are change that is well thought out...and that is better. Still a hassle and learning curve time, etc. but at least it's better. Innovation (good innovation) is worth the extra time/work to learn the new process.

I am TERRIBLE about change...and with everything absolutely CRAZY right now, I REALLY DON'T LIKE CHANGE!!! When I know where I'm going to live, if I have a place to live, if I can keep my horses and cats...then I might be better with small changes, like Houzz. But that's just me....

Interesting article in last Sunday's Seattle Times. Seattle (and the remaining 90 miles north to the border) lies north of about 70-some percent of all people living in Canada. Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal? All south of us. So where am I going with this? I had to mow the lawn today.....in my cutoffs....wearing a tee shirt. It was about 6" high in some spots and I couldn't put it off any longer.

You people in the east think you have it rough. I appear to be facing a nine-month lawn mowing season. Now that's rough!

Lol..Doug..ours needs to be mowed too...thankfully those trees that were taken down allowed for a fair amount of moss to accumulate, which of course will be changing with their removal, but for now, only certain areas are shaggy!

No, you can not see Mt. Baker from Tacoma. I was just saying how wonderful it was to hit Tacoma and get sneak views of the Olympics. Then not to much more up I-5 you can see Baker and her sisters on one side of you and the Olympics on the other side.

On clear days we can see Rainers top from this far north too.

Living in the shipping lanes affords me some awesome views every single day that we aren't fogged in or under deep dark clouds. Which is far more days than I'll admit to. :)

Doug coming through the Skagit Flats makes you realize though, how much water saturation there is, even if it's not frozen on the mountain tops. If they would only make more rainwater retention areas, it'll be okay for winters like this more often. Well except for the folks that support themselves with ski seasons. I feel bad for them this year! And the super abundance of bugs, slugs and snails not hampered by a warm winter.

Back to change..my work place doesn't do so well with change. I was missing one day and a lot of influence yesterday created chaos for me to unravel today. :(

Schick- lol, how is someone supposed to travel without their ninja stars?!?

Doug- happy belated anniversary!!

Wait now, are we talking about dealing with weather changes?!?! Pretty sure I've got all of you beat on that one, unless there is another Plains person lurking here I don't know about.

Snowing, ice covered roads in the morning, sleet mid afternoon, kids playing outside in shorts and t-shirts at 5 pm with nary a snow drift in sight, several days in a row now.

I simultaneously love and hate the weather here. Sometimes I wonder what its like to have actual seasons, snowy and cold for weeks and/or months at a time, followed by warmer weather and rains, spring flowers etc but honestly, I'm used to our rapidly changing weather, I've grown up with it so it doesn't seem strange to me to go to work or school in a heavy winter coat and snow boots and get home and change into shorts and a T-shirt, or vice versa.

As to progress on the house, today I took down the light fixtures in the master bath and replaced them with ones I wanted. I'm also prepping the rest of the house to slowly scrape all the hideous popcorn off the ceiling BEFORE we pull the carpet and lay new floors.

We have finished almost all the electrical in the MIL addition. All that's left is cabinets, counters, flooring and trim work. Hard to believe their wasn't even a slab there 12 weeks ago and now it is almost move in ready.

@Terri - OK, that makes sense. I was thinking you must be living on a heckuva high hill to see Baker from there! Yes, we are blessed with the views in our state, aren't we? Especially of so many snow-covered peaks (even though they're less covered this year). I'm out on the coast but, on a clear day, there are places where we can see Rainier. Yes, we also can say "The Mountain's out!", lol. It's far enough away that I can literally cover it up with my thumb but I can see it. And another place where we can see the Olympics. Unfortunately, neither from my house. But I have a beautiful view of the bay and it's interesting to see the ships come and go, isn't it?

@Doug - I know! It's warmer here than we typically get until after the 4th of July. I'm just hoping we don't have a horrid, cold, wet summer because of this. Of course, you won't have the wet so much. I love where I live but I do envy you rain-shadow folks sometimes. :)

@TexasGem - Hmmmm....you're in the plains. We know you're not in Texas but that narrows things down, doesn't it? Hmmmmm..... I don't have seasons where I live either, not four anyway. I think we have two: rain and not rain and temperature changes are generally mild. High heat or super-cold are flukes and not really seasons. I'm glad you're making progress on your home. We're in a standstill until DH can find the time to do some work on the electrical. He's lucky I've become more patient in my old age.

@funkycamper- actually I am in Texas, just the portion that most others seem to forget that it IS a part of Texas. I live in the Texas panhandle; Amarillo is the center but there are countless smaller towns surrounding it and feeding off of it

Our weather has gone down in the Guinness world records as some of the most extreme recorded weather in history. For me however, its just another Tuesday.

I was attempting to explain to my 7 and 5 year old why our weather is the way it is, I.e. the mountains to our left and flat plains to our right which equals summer weather one day and blizzard conditions the next.

I don't think they fully grasped it and, truth be told, I STILL don't fully grasp it.

It is so bizarre and unusual compared to the trxt of the world that I can't help but think that.the majority of owners don't recognize it

@Texas_Gem - Oh, and here I thought I was going to be solving a puzzle. We have some weather swings but nothing like you've described. I think I need to make a trip there just to experiment that. Sounds fascinating. Our weather is more like cold, damp, cloudy in the morning and then it burns off around 1-2pm, then sunny and warm the rest of the day. That's summer. The other 10 months of the year, our weather is wet. You know how they say Eskimos have 40 different words for snow depending on type of snow. We have at least 40 words for rain here. :)

lavender-I totally understand the "no-more-snow-this-season-can-we-just-morph-into-spring-please" thinking. And since DH can't ski right now anyway, might as well just start spring. Maybe that would jumpstart summer for here-we're not Seattle but our summer doesn't usually start until after the 4th of July as well.

And I hope the changes you are anticipating are smooth.

@doug-I have to ask, since I have been wondering for a long time-is the "r" in your screen name for Rainier? Our favorite mountain . . .

Leela - the rmt is an acronym for my business. I'm from the Skagit Valley originally, so Mt. Baker and all the North Cascades are my favorite places. In fact, I've never set foot on Mt. Rainier (too crowded), although I have skied at Crystal a few times.

TG - Thank you for the anniversary wishes. With wife's birthday falling on the 9th and Valentine's Day and our anniversary falling on the 14th, most years it's all rolled into one.

I have success! The second piece of trim with leg for the closet cabinets actually fit this time. Making a second one was a blessing in disguise because I was not completely satisfied with the shape of the leg on the first one and I tweaked it a bit. It looks more pleasing to my eye now. I also got the counter top glued up yesterday and will start sanding and finishing it today (if I can finish my work and stay off GW long enough, that is).

The tub was delivered today and I am both happy and relieved. I wasn't able to find one on display anywhere to see it before ordering so it was bit nerve wracking placing that order! I'm very pleased with it though, it's just what I wanted.

Looks like a nice big deep tub!

Doug, glad the trim/leg worked!

Today...rain, rain and more light drizzle rain..looks "February" today.

Doug- I didn't realize your wife and my youngest share a birthday!! Tell her happy belated for me. Can't wait to see pics of the trim.

Funky- lol, we only have one word for rain around here, "finally!!!". The temp swings are fairly normal, today's low was 28 and the high was 73, but moisture is usually lacking. The past few months have been a welcome reprieve from the extreme drought we have been under for the past few years. Speaking of sayings, the saying around here is, "if you don't like the weather, stick around 5 minutes and it will change." Apparently the most extreme was in 1919 when the temp dropped 44 degrees in one hour. weather history

Christina- I want to jump in that tub and take a soak!!!

28 to 73 in same day! 8O (meant to be big, shocked eyes and open mouth) That's crazy! LOL, on the "finally!" We say the same thing about change here but most people say that you have to stick around 10 minutes....so I guess we only change half as much as you do. Funny thing with us PNWers, while it rains often and drizzles even more, you rarely see a local carrying an umbrella. If you do see someone with one, they're usually a tourist or a recent California transplant. :)

funkycamper - you're right. We all have our gortex jackets with hoods if necessary. No umbrellas needed.

Um...we use umbrella for 2 seasons....baseball and football. :)

Not for darting from your car to a door.