LOL! Tough question because everyone get's different results. But if you make your own recipe from Portlands, peat, sand, etc and aren't adding any admixes then a water bath is probably terrific. But if you are using stuff like quickwall, topping cements, and grouts then to be safe you are probably better to just keep them misted and not submerge them. Some of these premixes require contact with the air to cure correctly. So the short answer is if it's your own recipe using Portlands a water bath is probably good. If you are using premixes it might be a good idea to stick with the misting and covered with plastic. Most premixes are plenty strong anyway so the water bath is probably over kill. Just my opinion, because even when I ask the experts I get conflicting answers.:)

I was in the same situation as you for child number two, and had taken number one into our old family doc for a well-baby checkup and told him I just wasn't snapping back from pregnancy as quickly as I thought I should be. He put me on the table and told me I was six months along. No not obese, in fact not even chubby. He asked couldn't I feel the kicking? No, I thought it was gas. LOL. I don't know how much further along I would have gotten before I noticed. I suspect about month seven, as that is when the belly started. I knew what pregnancy felt like, but I was a first-time postpartum and that I wasn't so sure about. Yes, I have watched that TLC series when I was insomniac and I also know of a couple of local cases when I was working with moms/babies. I think part of my not noticing was that I had gained a lot in pregnancy number one, and was having some personal problems in pregnancy number two and was actually losing weight in that pregnancy, not gaining it. You know how distorted body image can get.

Tame, That's wild! I'm guessing that although your husband refuses to go for 'family counseling' you are probably the one who has the most responsibility for this child as far as parenting goes. You need to give your husband an ultimatum, either he goes to family couseling with you or the child goes back to her mother or into a foster home. You should not have to parent this child without help. If it was me I'd put him AND his daughter out the door! Good Luck!

Wow everyone, thank you so much for the kind words! It really means a lot to me. Vista the wedding itself was a small affair at our home the home that my mom lived in. It was obvious to everyone at the wedding how upset I was. The guests included my step mom parents, her 6 siblings and their spouses, my step dads immediate family, a few close family friends, and amazingly a few members of my moms family! They actually planned the wedding pretty quickly like 6 weeks start to finish. At the time I was actually a university student and I lived on campus about 2 hours away. I came home every weekend. I remember the weekend that my dad told me he was getting married. He told me in private because I am pretty sure he knew what my reaction was going to be, which was of course, sobbing. I went back to school that week and continued to come home on the weekend, hoping that maybe they wouldnt actually go through with it. Step mom didnt actually move in the house until after they were married so it was pretty easy for me to just ignore what was happening by immersing myself in school during the week and then hang out with my friends on the weekends back at home. Typical selfish teenage behavior. Since it was such a small affair, there wasnt really a lot of expectations for me to participate other than to show up- probably designed that way by my dad. I guess my dad knew me well enough to know that once the initial shock and emotions wore off, that I would eventually come around and to give me time. I dont really have a clear recollection of the weeks that followed which is a good sign I guess. She moved in our home, which looked exactly the same as the day my mom died and stayed that way until they sold the house a few years ago. There were new mementos, memories, and photos added prominently displayed next to the old ones. Vista, its obvious that you have tried to reach out to your step kids and I am sure its incredibly painful to be pushed away by them. It sounds like you have left the door open to them countless times, they just have never walked through the door. I think its important to ask yourself whether their actions are the result of bad behavior or they just learned terrible coping skills to a traumatic event like divorce. My initial thought when you said the girls burst out in tears about the wedding dresses was there was still a lot of pain from the divorce. I can empathize with that pain. I admire that you are still hopeful that they will come around and the fact that you question where you could have made some changes along the way. Have you ever asked them that? Theres probably a pretty good chance that they may not have an answer for you, but maybe someday they will. Will the door still be open? Seriously, thank you for allowing me to talk about this. Its a blessing for me. Its really made me self reflect over the past day or so and has inspired me to continue to never take for granted the people that I hold so dearly to my heart.