Not all kids are like you. I wish my 14 yr old daughter was a little more non-conformist and independent. She wont even let me jaywalk. Her rap music is annoying though.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Sheesh, I never let age stop the fighting, substance abuse, annoying music and general mayhem. I'm 40 and still working on it...


I think having kids will make you mature quickly, something I should have done.

Anyhow... My teen angst music (The Germs) from "Decline of Western Civilization"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4kvKUfeFpc&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=decline%20of%20western%20civilization&oe=U

__________________
'07 Yukon 2500
'13 Subaru Outback 3.6R
'13 Orbea Carpe 9-speed

Currently Benzless
Formerly: 300TD, S600, E55, 560SEL

---= The forest breathes, listen.
-Native American elder

I see a lot of couples do the same thing - one gets out of school and starts a new career and immediately they have kids. One of my friends' wives pressured him to start a family and ultimately tricked him saying she was on BC. The premature (in their lives, not the baby's) birth ruined the family and he was forced to join the military to survive. Not that joining the military is a bad thing, it just shouldn't be an emergency decision.

Give yourselves a break. Pay off your debts, go on a few vacations, enjoy each other for a few years before starting the family. Having kids changes your life forever and unless you're independently wealthy, it'll be years before you can enjoy your independent life again. Some people thrive on that desparate, stressfull lifestyle but not me.

Remember, once you have 'em, you can't return 'em for a refund! Just from my observations of my friends and people around me, I think 30-32 is about the best practical age range to start having them.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I'm 37 with a 3 year old and a 1.5 year old. I could have started a bit earlier, but we were having too much fun with travel.

I'm glad I have those memories to look back on these days.

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Chad
2013 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL

Chad, you will an old man when your kids are teenagers. They will be able to whip your ass.

__________________
For the Saved, this world is the worst it will ever get.
For the unSaved, this world is the best it will ever get.

Clk's Ebay Stuff BUY SOMETHING NOW!!!

It's not too bad. I'll be 54 when my son is 20. As long as I stay active and exercise, I should be OK.

Plus I hope that my son won't have the desire to open a can of whoop ass on me.

__________________
Chad
2013 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL

You will be OK. I am 20 and my dads 59.



We do our annual father son camping trips, work on cars from time to time, take care of the food shopping, race the cars (at the track), and play 360. His skills in a lot of area are better than mine, so he still beats me at a lot of things.


Chad, my dad may be 60, but he is not showing any signs of slowing down. We did 6 miles of hiking around the Tahoe Natioal Forest, and had a blast.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

I am 20 years older than my oldest son, and he always told that when I get old and in a wheel chair, that he was going to ***** slap me all day long.

__________________
For the Saved, this world is the worst it will ever get.
For the unSaved, this world is the best it will ever get.

Clk's Ebay Stuff BUY SOMETHING NOW!!!

I'm almost 23 and my dad is 49.....mom is 47.....younger is better IMHO. My wife and I are the same age, and we'll probably have kid(s) within the next 3-4 years....depending on circumstances. I don't want to have the last kid leave the house when I am 55+.....

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

(Biological time clock ticking...)

Actually, that might be what's driving her decision!

I got married at 32 and my wife is a bit younger than me, but we had stable careers by then, so I totally agree with Kartek. Not to mention, being old enough to have gotten everything else out of our systems, so we didn't feel like we were missing out when the newborn was taking up all of our free time.

That newborn is a teen now, and we are dealing with a new set of experiences! But the advice by raymr regarding "sports" is a good one...as long as your kid has fun participating.

The point is, when you are ready, do all you can to ensure that you spend as much time as possible with your kid(s). And when you can't be, see to it that they are engaged in something other than PC or TV-related activities!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Yeah! Another metal fan!!

__________________
Dan
2005 E320 CDI - 246k
1987 300SDL TD05-16g, Herlevi pump, Elbe manifold, 2.47 LSD - 213k
Past: 1987 300D - 264k

Yep.. Sports. Mine loves playing hockey.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Yah, did you also mutter "From each according to his ability, and to each, according to his needs" when you were siphoning the fuel out of Cadillac gas tanks?

__________________
1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Well Iam just glad Iam on the other end, there is life after kids .
Now there are grand kids, 1 1/2, 3+ and a new born Jan 7. the kids whoop my ass after a day with them.

these are from daughter #2, who will be 27 next week.

the older daughter will have her first in April, and she is 35.

#2 is from my ex wife ( the big wow, witch of watsonville) she raised her and I got to pay child support for 18 yrs. but did get to borrow her possesion once in a while with stipulations.

Daughter #1 is my step daughter, and she was 12 when my wife and I got married. she latched onto me from the start and had a good relationship. you would think I was her real dad. we had our up`s and downs as you do with teen agers, but you and your wife have to stick together, together, and work as a team. your kids need to know you are always there for them, even when they don`t like you.

I was 40 when we got married, and I didn`t want to be raising kids when I was 60, so we didn`t have any together. Maybe we should have, but looking back now, the one was a full load some times.
We have 23 years coming up in May.

If you are going to wait until you can afford them, you will wait a long time. there is never a right time. never have more than the two of you, or they will gang up on you.

Be nice to your kids, they will be picking out your rest home.

Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

If you're not sure yet tell your wife she should finish her degree and settle into the job and then think about it. She may or may not change her mind on the timing but it'll give you some more time to wrap your head around it.

I was 28 when we had our first kid, 36 with the 4th. Out of aklim's 4 we had met all but "1. Can you afford kids?" Not really but we were willing to sacrifice in order to (a good part of that "not really" was thanks to self inflicted debt load). In our case my wife wanted to be a stay-at-home mom so there was financial sacrifice in addition to more workload for me, I took a PT job delivering papers which paid my mortgage for 11 years. And now that my youngest is approaching school age my wife is trying to decide what line of work she'd like to get into (leaning towards Special Ed, either as a teacher or an para-professional).

I wouldn't change a thing even though my oldest two drive me nuts already and they're only 11 and 9.

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)