Squirrel Is In

I'm back

I guess I got so tired of blogging about the custody and all those problems that when it was finally over I just couldn't think of anything to post about. 

Today I was thinking about the fact that my stepson doesn't know how to swim.  He's 8 1/2 years old and had swimming lessons and he still can't swim.  My husband and his ex are so overly protective that they won't let him near any water without a life jacket on so he won't even learn how to swim on his own.  I think he's going to be one of those people that never learns to swim as a child.  It scares me because I think that one day when he's older he'll go out fishing with a buddy and the boat tips over and he drowns because he doesn't know how to swim.  Every summer you hear about some grown man out on a fishing boat who drowns in like 8 feet of water close to shore because he didn't know how to swim.  I'm afraid C-man will be one of those men.  They don't have any kind of swimming lessons anywhere around here so I don't know what to do about it.  I think they should just let him in the pool and stand right there close and let him play with the other kids without a life jacket until he learns on his own like my kids did but what to I know.

Speaking of learning.  My youngest is taking his first drivers education class this morning.  I couldn't believe it cost $150!!  It was free when I was a kid.  We took it during the school year as a class.  They have to pay and take it during the summer.  I can't believe he's going to be getting his drivers license in November!  Talk about being scared!  From what i've seen so far that kid can't drive for shit!  I hope these classes help him. 

Music brings memories pouring out...

Yesterday while blog hopping I came across a really neat blog.  This person posts great songs of the 80's.  If you were a teen or young adult in the 80's you will have a blast sitting and listening to song after song and reading the lyrics.  A few of them almost made me cry as memories came flooding back.  Air Supply's "Lost in Love" reminded me of the summer I sat in my room and cried over my first love thinking he had cheated on me with my best friend while I was gone on vacation.  Some songs reminded me of good times too but that song really hit me like a ton of bricks.  But then the Manhattans Shining Star reminded me how much I love my present husband.  I actually sang it to him last night, of course changing the part where it said "girl" to "boy".  LOL. 

Honey, you are my shining star
Don't you go away
Wanna be right here where you are
until my dying day

So many have tried, tried to find
a love like yours and mine

Boy, don't you realize
how you hypnotize?
Make me, love you more each time

Honey I'll never leave you lonely
Give my love to you only
to you only, to you on - ly

Honey, you are my shining star.
Don't you go away.
Wanna be right here where you are
until my dying day.

Feels so good when we're lying here next to each other,
lost in love.

Baby, when we touch, love you so much.
You're all I ever dreamed of.

Honey I'll never leave you lonely;
give my love to you only,
to you only, to you only.

Honey, you are my shining star.
Don't you go away.
Wanna be right here where you are
until my dying day.

School's almost out, let the messes commence...

How many parents out there are excited that school is almost out?  The days of sleeping in after you get the kids off to school are over.  After this Tuesday it's "get up mom!  I'm hungry!".  And if you don't get up and they fix it themselves you wake up an hour or so later to a milk and cereal mess. This picture is not an actual picture of my house, but as I was able to easily Google "cereal mess" and come up with a pic shows how this is a widespread problem.  An even more terrifying event is when the child decides that he wants frozen waffles and doesn't want to wait for his lazy tired mother to awaken. Again, not a picture of my child but an example of how by Googling "syrup mess" we can see that children making themselves breakfast in the summer can turn out disastrous.  So mothers beware even though it is nice not to have to get up at the crack of dawn to get the rug rats ready for school in the summer, morning is not a time to relax.  There are dangers lurking in the kitchen in the early morning hours!  Hungry children and sleeping mothers do not mix!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

23 years ago we were celebrating the 1st birthday of the most beautiful baby in the world, my first born daughter.  Today she is 24 years old and is still the most beautiful girl in the world!

I love and adore you my sweet Ashley Dawn.  I couldn't be prouder to be your mother.  You are a wonderful daughter and friend.  I hope today is a great day for you!

Lots of hugs and kisses to the person who made my life complete 24 years ago today!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxo

I don't know what's wrong with me but lately i'm feeling so unloved.  Not by my children but by my husband.  Don't get me wrong he's a good husband, he provides a good home and is home every night.  He doesn't go out with his friends (except for the occasional roller hockey game).  But he isn't the most romantic guy in the world.  The only reason I got a card for Mothers Day is because I cried because he didn't take the boys to get me anything for Mother's Day so he ran out and grabbed a card and a cake and flowers.  The card was one that looked like it was bought from a pile of the left over cards that no one wanted, because it was.  It's like he doesn't even appreciate that I, after raising two children to adulthood and one who is damn near an adult, am now starting over raising a his small son.  Not to mention all the nightmare hell his ex put me and my teenage son through to get here.  Maybe I shouldn't take it personally maybe he's just one of those guys who forgets birthdays and Mothers Day and Valentines Day.  All I know is that even though I know he loves me, it still hurts my feeling and it makes me cry.  I just want to feel like I am appreciated and cherished.  I just don't feel that way.  I feel like the maid and the babysitter.  A spoiled maid and babysitter, I do get tans and my nails done.  I'm just sayin'...

Going on a trip? Please let me stow away in a trunk and go with you...

I had to cancel my weekend in the cabin in June!!  We didn't realize it was Fathers Day weekend.  So two of my kids have to spend that weekend with their dad and my husbands dad is having a cook out.  Then I realized we won't have the money to go because we just bought another vehicle and the insurance on it is going to be 1200 a year more than our insurance was before!  I swear we can never get ahead!  How someone can live these days under 80,000 dollars a year is beyond me!  If you are doing it I give you huge kudos!  Maybe I just can't budget worth a crap.  I have DishNetwork w/DVR, DSL, two phone lines, two cars w/huge insurance premiums, a small home (under 1200 sq ft).   It's not like we have a bunch of toys.  No boat, no RV.  But still we are broke all the time.  I know we probably go out to eat too much and we do have our 400 dollar a month Walmart trips.  I've got to find a way to cut back so we can save some money so I can go on a vacation before I lose my mind!!!!  And with the cost of gas going through the roof it looks like driving anywhere is just out of the question...  Bitch, bitch, bitch.  Ok I'll shut up now.

C-man's waivering, a planned vacation, new nails, and a cook-out, ..

Something I noticed on Thursday that I kind of found a little disturbing was that C-man knew we had court on Friday and when I picked him up from school the teacher told me he was really, really bad at school.  When we got home I asked him what was wrong and he told me that his mother had told him to act really bad at school to help her get him back.  I asked him if he wanted to go live with her and he said "well she said she would move close to you guys and that she would give me my own cell phone if I lived with her" (who gives a 2nd grader a cell phone?!).  Then Friday when we won custody he didn't act very happy about it.  Somehow I get the feeling that this is not over.  She will probably continue to try and get him to act bad at school and bribe him with things.  I'm sure we have not seen our last day in court.  Hopefully we will at least get a year or two rest though.  It's like we always have this evil force working in our lives just waiting for a chance to pounce.

We are planning a weekend in a cabin at a lake for mid June.  I've already made reservations.  We are taking the kids, it's my moms family reunion so we are taking everyone.  I don't know if my oldest son will be able to get off work.  I really hope so because I don't get to see nearly enough of him.   

My daughter took me and her little 5yr old soon to be step daughter to go get our nails done on Saturday.  I got tips put on because I was so nervous last week I bit all my natural nails off to nubs.  Sunday we went to church and then went over to my father-in-laws house for a a cook out to celebrate us winning custody of C-man.  The boys rode the 4-wheeler and a little motorcycle all afternoon.  Now it's Monday and they are all gone off to work and to school and I'm sitting here in the middle of a huge mess that they made.  And I DO NOT WANT TO CLEAN IT UP!!!

Thanks everyone for all the happy comments on my last post!!!!

If you're thinking about traveling to Rome, Barcelona, or Amsterdam, you can look online for hotels in barcelona and other quality hotels in rome and amsterdam hotels.

WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!

She gave up before we ever even went into court!!!!!  We gave up the child support in exchange for sole custody.  She gets standard visitation (the judge said she would have gotten that anyway) and we get to claim him on our income taxes every year.  And I didn't have to testify!!  My palms were sweating I was so freaking nervous.  We had the chief of police there to be a character witness, we also had the school counselor there who also goes to church with us there.  We were all set to battle and she gave in.  Thank you all for all your words of support over the past year.  Actually some of you have been reading for the past four years, listening to all the horror stories and my frustration. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!  I am so relieved I could cry.  I just want to drink champagne and cry for happiness.  Then part of me is like, what the heck am I going to do without having all this stress and worry in my life?  It's been a part of our whole marriage!  We have been fighting that woman in court for our entire marriage.  I just can't believe it's over!

We made it through the war alive!! Click below to watch me dance for joy! LOL

Create Your Own PaloozaHead - Visit Lollapalooza.com

Court is tomorrow and i'm a wreck!

I know I've really slacked off on posting regularly.  I am so freaked out this week!  The custody hearing is in the morning.  We go to our attorney this afternoon to go over our testimony.  And to make things even more stressfull I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO WEAR!!!!  I think i'm going to go shopping tonight and get something.  Having something nice and new might make me feel better.  It's a girl thing I guess.  My stomache has been in knots for days now.  I'm sure we are going to get to keep him but the thought of this little boy having to go back and live over there with those two old women and no daddy there is heartbreaking.  My husband is such a good father.  He is so involved in C-man's life.  When C-man lives with his mother she keeps him away from his dad, she won't answer the phone when he calls, she doesn't tell my husband whats going on in his school activities.  She really alienates him from his son.  Not to mention that she tells him that my husband doesn't love him and he loves my son more.  She is physically and emotionally abusive and we all know that the minute she gets him back she will start doing drugs again.  Personally I don't think she ever stopped smoking pot because just a month ago C-man brought a lighter he found in her bedroom home with him that had a pot leaf on it and she doesn't smoke cigarettes.  Her mother must be taking the urinalisis for her is all I can think of.  Anyway my nerves are shot and that's why i've been bad about visiting blogs and posting.  Hopefully after tomorrow things will be great and all the stress will be gone and I can get back to my normal cheery self! :)

What's up with this? I'M NOT your only friend?!

Man crushes.  Ever heard the term?  I think I first heard it on Seinfeld, but don't hold me to it.  I define a man crush as a man who is completely heterosexual who gets fascinated by another mans abilities.  He then befriends the guy and wants to learn how to be more like him.  Then these two guys start hanging out together doing said activity all the time, like let's just use roller hockey for an example.  No reason it could be anything like basketball or golf.... I'm just saying.  And I'm not naming any names.  I wouldn't want to sleep on the couch get hate mail.  I'm not jealous.  Not me.  And NO I'm not getting roller blades and joining them.  There's a law against 40 year old women wearing roller blades isn't there?  No? Well there should be.  I mean for God's sake I might SWEAT or fall on my ass in front of people (thanks for reminding me of that part, Wander)! 

EDIT to get myself our of the doghouse for implying someone has a man crush: I just need to clarify that I am only giving a certain person crap because I am mean like that.  Said person is really only trying to loose weight and roller hockey is good exercise.  This is an activity that said person and his son are doing together along with this other guy and his son.  I have been invited to join them I just don't like exerting too much energy if I don't absolutely have to, especially in the summer.  I know it's not summer yet but this is Oklahoma and it already is starting to feel like the surface of the sun.