Well, we’ll be drinking

I was trying to make plans for New Years Eve.  We'd had the boys for the last 3 years and although it is always fun to keep kids up past their bedtime and scream at midnight, so on and so forth, I emailed the M-Word to see if she could take a break from her busy schedule to take the boys.

She ignored it.

This in mind, I new that my sister would be having a get together, so I called her up.  I asked her if it would be kid friendly and she informed me that she would have to talk to Beer Delivery Guy (her wonderful fiancé).

When I talked to her again, I was told that Beer Delivery Guy felt that since there would be drinking it would not be a good idea.

This would not be a big deal, but that was the same reason he had for not letting the boys come to their house warming party.

My sister does not drink and Beer Delivery Guy is not an alcoholic, but he is a social drinker (the guy has a kegerator in the kitchen).  All get-togethers at their house involve drinking, which is fine.  None of the adults get belligerent, they don't start falling down, or any other thing children should be shielded from.

I guess I am just a little hurt, because I want the boys to have a relationship with my sister.  I always loved my hip young aunt (my sister is not hip, but really neither was my aunt).

I just know that my sister is like me the more the merrier no matter what their age; I am really trying to not be mad at Beer Delivery Guy.  He is a great person, but come on you are going to be their uncle soon!

P.S. I understand that I am being slightly unreasonable but I don't care!!!

I didn't mean everyone...just her

As I said in previous posts, I posted about the M-Words new assets on the forum Childlessstepmoms.org.

I got great replies. They all made me feel better and less bitter about the situation, but I guess my tongue was still a little jagged.

I gave one Childless Stepmom the impression that I was making fun of her for the boob job itself. This is not true, I believe that any woman can improve upon anything they see fit, and I may even partake someday.

My actual issue is with her priorities. At the time that she had this surgery, she’d been complaining about not being able to afford Christmas, that she was 2 months behind on her rent and that she really wants to get the divorce settled (which she has agreed that if we agree to everything in advance she will pay for).

I just do not think that spending or even having your parents spend that kind of money is very responsible. She has no sense of right and wrong when it comes to the boys. I just wish that she would put up or shut up! The shut up would be nice. I know the boys need to know that she cares, but if she’s not going to show them poo on her.

She actually said that she only wanted them on Christmas for a short period, because she would still be resting from her surgery (before we knew what it was). Well anyway, I have no issues with anyone who chooses to have breast implants and I do not believe that it makes a woman an airhead or bimbo. I just can’t believe her tactless timing!

Christmas Day

Children at Christmas time are so wonderful.  They smile all day, fight over toys, tell you this is the best Christmas ever 20 times, basically they make it all worth it!

They may cry or say the wrong thing when they open the present that is just not right, but even the rudest kids can make you smile on Christmas.

It is days like today that make me wonder what ny life would be like if it weren’t for Babe and the Babies coming into my life.

I had a great Christmas.  The boys ended up cleaning up; Babe and I couldn’t get them much, but they got great gifts from everyone else!

We got them a few things and then of course we had a Special Angel, that sent us a PSP (THE gift this Christmas), so Santa did a good job also!

They boys even got to see the M-Word, they got some great gifts from her loaded parents, as did she I hope.  I confirmed the bOObs today.  Hopefully, her parents paid for it, I would hate to think that her mind was really that shallow.  She complains about being two months behind on her rent and how she can’t afford any childsupport.

Well I am not letting her rain on my parade…she’s not the one that got 5 “I love you hugs” before bed!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

There are great people in this world!

I joined a forum specifically dedicated to childless stepmoms.

I added a topic about my situation with not being able to afford Christmas and the m-word getting a boob job (maybe?).  I wasn’t asking for anything, just writing out my thoughts, to see what others thought about my situation.

Well, I got a reply from another childless stepmom like me, offering me her PSP!!!!!!

All she wanted in return was to be updated on the boob job stuff.  So we could laugh and roll our eyes J.  I am so freaking astonished…there truly are great people in this wild selfish world!

I love this site and I love these women!  It was so great that I found women in similar situations as I am.  It is so great to know that others have to deal with the same crap that I do ( that sound sadistic); rephrase: 

I am just glad to have people that understand what I am going through.

Who wants to bet?

I haven't written in a while, but I have been busy with school and work and life.

So, the m-word has a surgery this Friday.

Last year about this time, she had a hysterectomy.  I am kinda wondering what other surgeries a 27-year-old woman would have.  I know that there are plenty, but she told us she was having a hysterectomy.  This one she just said surgery and when I played concerned (really just being nosey) she just said it was nothing to be concerned about.

Babe and I are betting on a boob job.  According to Babe, it is something that she has always wanted.  I actually believe it…she has always chosen #1 over the babies.  She always has her nails done and her hair done and so on and so on.

I really think it is funny, but I am just annoyed today, because we had to tell the boys that daddy and I could not get them anything for Christmas.  We are spent all of the money we had, plus (we bounced a check, not on purpose, but it happened) on one PSP (they will have to share).  That is what they really wanted, but it will be from Santa.  I would rather them know Babe and I are broke than Santa decided not to show up.  They will get stuff from the m-word, my parents, and their 2 sets of grand parents, but I hate that they will not wake up with a bunch of stuff on Christmas.

Sick Baby :(

Teddy Bear was throwing up from 9PM to 1:30PM tonight (this morning, whatever). I felt helpless. Babe went out and got medicine, but the little guy kept going….every 15 minutes.

We tried to contact the M-Word…cause although she says they are on her insurance now we have never actually seen the cards and we wanted to go armed to the E-Room with more than, “I dunno.” However, we haven’t heard from her in a week and half so we know how well our calls were received, as in they weren’t. If she called us at 12 and then 1 AM, I think we would answer, even if she didn’t have the kids. We would know it was important.
Well, we were giving him the medicine every 15 minutes (as the instructions said). We also gave him a little water, cause even good tasting medicine still tastes like medicine.

Well, since we weren’t sure about the insurance (forget love, we should get married just so I can get the boys on my insurance), we decided to call the E-Room to make sure we were not jumping the gun. And you know what…it turns out that when a kid it throwing up you’re not supposed to give them liquids. Oops…we’ll know next time I guess.

Every time we were letting him have water to wash the meds down…it came back up.

Again…Woops

He is sleeping now, but he is talking in his sleep, so I know he still doesn’t feel yummy.

10 things I am thankful for:

1.    Falling in love

2.    My pseudo family

3.    The rest of my family

4.    My wonderful friends

5.    My dog Gracie

6.    My pseudo inlaws telling me how much better I am then their most recent daughter inlaw

7.    Happy holiday memories

8.    Life throwing me curves

9.    Insomnia (it’s the only way to get anything done)

10. Waking up this morning to the beautiful, cool, sunshiny day that it was.

I like my worst enemy.

On April 8, 2002, my best friend, Red, married Venezuelan Punk Star.  Their marriage wasn’t exactly a happy one.  They loved each other for a while, but then it just seemed to teeter off.  They weren’t unhappy, just not HAPPY HAPPY.

Red and I were friends with Heartbreaker for a long time; in fact she caught the bouquet at Red and VPS’s wedding.  As Red and VPS grew further apart, Heartbreaker and VPS grew closer.  First bonding over their unhappy relationships and then becoming good friends.

Obviously, even though Red did not love VPS anymore, her friend’s growing friendship with her husband bothered her.  Knowing this VPS and Heartbreaker agreed to spend less time together.  Then one night, Red came home to VPS and Heartbreaker sitting up chatting after a friendly get-together.  The only problem was that it was now 4:30 AM.  Admittedly, they were not doing anything wrong, but it was still a slap in the face to Red.

She moved out.

A couple of times Heartbreaker tried to talk to me about “what if”, meaning what would happen if her and VPS got together.  I told her that if she wanted to remain my friend then she would keep it a secret from me.  My friend dating an “important EX” would be my worst nightmare.  I mean, at least there would have to be years in between.  It feels like your friend steeling your memories.  Red and VPS were happy once and they had all of those little cute things and now her friend was thinking of having all of those little cute things too.

Well, of course, VPS and Heartbreaker started dating.  I hated them for it.  It just feels so wrong.  I could never think of my friend’s husband in that way, Divorced or Not.  My friends are like family and it just feels very incestual to me.

Well it has been about 3 years now.  My sister became closer friends with Heartbreaker, because her fiancé and VPS are close friends.  I have always missed Heartbreaker, as we were really good friends and recently I have been forced to choose between my convictions (hating her) and seeing my sister under pleasant circumstances.

I still like her and I want to be friends.  Red lives very far away and we are still and will always remain best friends.  I am just so afraid that if I openly rekindle Heartbreakers and my friendship, Red will be crushed.  I don’t want her to think that I am abandoning her.  I hate this situation!

I love my Red…

Officially Official

Sugar asked me if he could call me mom, tonight.  It was just me, him and Teddy Bear, watching National Treasure.  Then he popped out with “Since Dad is Dad and you are the other one can I call you Mom?”

As you may have read, he has done it before but it was always when he wanted something or when he was describing me to someone else as in “that’s my ___”.  But never specific and most of the time just a reaction.

This usually only happened when other kids were around their moms and I just figured it was ‘cause he was uncomfortable that his wasn’t around.  I mean let’s face it kids do not usually end up with their father’s, so all the other kids at the park are usually with their moms.

All of this has kinda been happening over the past two months.  The first time he even slightly uttered the word in my direction was September 19^th.  I love my boys; Teddy Bear excepted me a lot sooner, so I guess this mile marker is special.  Teddy Bear needed a Mommy, but Sugar never seemed to; so I know that he wants me to be his mommy.

That makes me feel very special.

A different sort of Halloween

I took the boys to a festival.

 

It was great.  They had all sorts of things for them to do:

 

1. Trick or Treating (of course) at tents and businesses.
2. Bounce houses and slides
3. A wizard who looked oddly like the mall Santa (he is a really good Santa and a wizard for that matter, real beard and all).
4. characters to take pics with (tall scarecrow, Darth Vader, etc)
5. There was a carnival type area too, but it was EXPENSIVE!

 

There were all sorts of people in costumes; these two toddlers were dressed as McCain and Obama (it was priceless).  I really liked it!  I think I will take them there every year.  It was definitely better than the boring old walk around the neighborhood and had the added bonus that they were having so much fun that they did not get that much candy!

Single Dad?

Picture this….I am running late for the parent conferences.  I had purposely left Babe the car (we only have one; I KNOW RIGHT). I purposely did this because I was afraid I would not make it.  I was doing an assessment of a plant.  My employer is perfect willing to lone me one of the company vehicles (the economy has caused an excess of these, if you get me and that way they don’t have to pay me mileage, which I am sure works in their favor).

I walk into Teddy Bear’s conference and I hear “I am a single dad, I don’t get any help from his mother” (gasp sigh tear).  This from the man who when the boys come back from their mothers with all the wonderful things she ahs bought them says “they know who loves them”, this from the man who cuddles and tells me that I am the best thing that ever happened to him and his boys.  This from the man who tells me that no matter what I am their mother (he says this as pillow talk I think; never in front of the babies).  This from the man who’s boys I have been helping to raise from the ages of 3 and 4; the same boys that I have known for more than half of their lives.

How dare he!!!

It hit me hard.  Is he really a “single” parent?  We are not married, but he is not doing it on his own.  He stays home with the boys sure, but can a married stay at home mom call herself a single mom? Who’s income allows him to stay at home with the boys!

MINE!!!

I am writing it off as one of those insensitive man things that boys do sometimes and I did forgive him, but geez…I may not be the “real” mom, but I not only support them financially in every way but I spend time with them too.  I think I am the perfect working parent, I understand on the weekends that he had a week of homework, playing, arguing, and kid talk, so I give him a break and take the kids to the park or some form of fun (I actually enjoy it), before starting on my homework (mba).

I just want to take a minute to pat myself on the back.

“Caribel, you are doing a wonderful job!”

Bio mom?

I had resigned myself to a life with the boys and Babe along time ago, figuring even if I ever wanted a child/children of my own that it just was not in the cards.

Babe was fixed after Teddy Bear came along.

I loved them so much that I thought that it would never matter.

I know that he can get a reversal, but Babe is one of 3 boys and he has 2, his brother has 2, and admittedly his other brother has 3 girls.  This is just statistically not enough X chromosomes for me.

Not that I wouldn’t want another son, but I already have 2 and I want a little princess.  There is far too much testosterone in my home already.

I have considered adopting, but I really want a 1 or 2 year old, but as far as I can see through research most of them have extreme medical problems.  I think those who could take on a child like this are angels, but the boys have been through enough and should not have to compete with a sick child also.  Besides we do not have the money to support a child with special needs.

Well, a friend of a friend got pregnant and did not want to keep the baby.

This got me thinking, I do have the finances to raise another child, but I do not have the finances to go through an adoption.  I may be sounding ignorant here, but could she just give me the baby, with a little paperwork and filing fees or is it a lot more complicated than that?

Also, how do you bring it up and how do you say, “Well I only want them if they are girl.”

I really wish that this situation hadn’t happened, because it reminded me that although I never wanted children till I was at least 30 (blew that out the window at 25 and they were already 3 and 4) I did always want at least one girl and I still do.

Patooey....

Ok so I am trying not to make this blog about my life and not all about the M-Word, but she is just trying my patients lately. 

The M-Word has not seen the kids’ in almost a month and now she has asked to see them for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  Does this mean that she does not want to see them until then? 

Even if she does, why does she always want them for the fun stuff, or if she has plans.  She never just takes them on the weekend to her house; she just sees them at her parents’ house, when there are more people around to help “control” them.

Also, when I mentioned that we already had plans, she did offer to buy the Halloween costumes, but then stressed the fact that she wanted to take them Trick O’ Treating every year.  I said “no” that I wanted to take them sometimes.  Was that wrong?  She is their mother, but she has a daughter to share these memories with and she doesn’t seem to want to see the boys on regular occasions.  Halloween was very important in my family and I want to be involved in that experience with the boys!

Lately she has been whining about working 7 days a week and not been able to see the boys and how it hurts her, but I was told that she went to theme park that is 2 hours away for their scary Halloween celebration thing last Saturday.  Not only did that take 4 hours of driving time never mind the time spent there, but also it also probably cost her and her boyfriend at least 40 bucks each just to get in.  She has not paid child support in 5 months and before that she only paid for 2 months and that was sporadic.

I know that I am being petty and jealous, but the boys always think that we are mean when we can’t afford to get them what they want, but then Mom the hero swoops down and gets them exactly what they want.  For example, she bought the school supplies this year when the boys saw all those crayons, markers, pencil boxes, etc.  Sugar said, “We have the best mom ever!”  That broke my heart…I wanted to scream, “I spend every ounce of money I have on you! If I had never met you father I would be rich right now, but all I get to buy you is food and clothes, etc,” of course, I didn’t do that.  These babies have my heart and I hate that I feel like I am in a competition.  The only thing is she really doesn’t even have to try.

OOOOOOOH, I’m so mad I could spit J

Patooey (spit noise)

Somebody's throwing a pity party and I'm not going!

Well, I got over my peevedness about the M-Word wanting to use my memories scrapbook (see previous blog). So, I sent her some pics of the boys at the lake and playground this weekend, I figured so what the boys will knoe they went with me when she is showing them her scrapbook.

Here is the response that I received back:

"I appreciate you sending those pics to me, I do miss the boys even though I am sure by now what I say means nothing to you guys. It hurts my heart though to look at the pics at the same time makes me smile to see they are happy and you guys do things with them. But I see they are moving on and probably don't think of me much anymore. I haven't been around to see anyone I am working 7 days now.
Tell them to email me if they have time and send them kisses for me please."

I just don’t understand emails like this. All she has to do is show up! There are plenty of parents who work a lot and they still manage to see their children. She just can’t be bothered and then when she realizes what she is doing she feels bad and makes excuses. I am sure these excuses work on her friends and family, but I know that she did not show up when she did not have 2 jobs, except back then her excuse was because she hated babe.

With all of this said I know in her own way she loves the boys, butI think they are more of a novelty to her. She just pulls them out when she needs an ego boost or to make her parents believe she is trying.

Sugar called me Mommy again; well actually it was Mom, but whatever.

I took the boys to the really cool park that I found again.  The boys met several friends, actually a family of 4 children and their cousin (instant group of friends).

 

Teddy Bear found a dead fish and played with it…yuck; he and his new 8 year old girlfriend buried it and gave it a proper funeral.

 

Well on to the good news.  Sugar and one of his new friends were playing catch with a football (the other boy was on top of the playground and Sugar was on the ground).  They dropped it and I threw it to the other boy and I must have done a good job, because Sugar said “That’s my MOM!”

 

Well, I was excited.  Their Mom hasn’t seen them in almost a month again not since September 13^th.  She’s losing them… I just wish she could see them as the wonderful children that they are.er

Old Crushes die hard

An old friend, that I had a crush on in high school (we almost dated), wrote me an email explaining that he thinks back on me fondly and that I was a fork in his life.

 

He explained that he had asked a magic 8-ball whether or not to pursue me and it told him “no.”

 

He said that he thinks back and wonders where he would be in his life had it said “yes.”

 

Well other than the fact that this is a dumb excuse, I found myself kinda mad. I would have loved to have dated him and I believe that it would have been a great relationship, but do I have a right to be mad?  I may have been married to him and never met my 3 boys.  Babe may not have had the income to raise the boys and he may never have gotten them.  He or they may have been homeless, but would I care?  Would I know?  Would I be happy?

 

I am happy with Babe, but I am not a romantic in the fact that I do not believe in soul mates?

 

Do I, knowing that I am happy now, have any right to be mad that instead of a great High School sweetheart, I was stuck with an abusive jerk (that’s a whole n’other blog)?

 

Life does move on, but that whole if thing drives me nuts!!!  I am glad that everything worked out the way it did, but maybe I could have been happy in high school?

 

Well, I am over it; me and my friend are actually talking for the first time in 10 years…no worries even if I wonder what would have happened I love my dysfunctional family.

 

Sleepy

I had to get up at 5 this morning. That wouldn't be so bad, but I had a paper due last night and of course I procrastinated. Why do I do that! Wouldn't it be nicer if we all just got things done in advance. I wish I could say that I had been super busy but that just was not the case; I was lazy!

I have been doing this since I was a kid but admittedly, my mother, although a procrastinater herself basically kept me on time. I worked 3 jobs while going to school the first time and I went full time except one semester. Then I had excuses for waiting till the last minute!

I guess I will just use the I wanted to spend time with my wonderful family. Or the fact that they are loud and I can never get any studying done!

New Park!

I am sitting at this new park I found. It is great the boys have a lake to swim in or the can play on the playground or there is a miny water park for $1 a person! This is great I am so happy about our move!
But why do boys play in the weeds.  I was a tomboy with the best of them, but I hate late weeds....They hoped in them looked for minoes....It was gross, but I felt peer pressured in to wading in with them.  It is sad that I feel peer pressured by my boys.  I haven't quite decided if that means I still have a childs spirit or it I am one of those pathetic parents who just wants their kids to think they are cool.  Oh, well I guess I should get use to gross stuff.....except bugs...yuck!

Mommy squared!

Sugar is a very logical and smart kid.  Not that he doesn't have an imagination, because he does, but in real life situations he is very matter-of-fact.  If Babe is lecturing him about listening to me he might say "you need to respect Caribel Renee like you would me or your mommy."

 

And sugar would say, "Caribel’s not my mom." He is not being mean, just factual. 

 

Well today, he did it, Sugar called me MOMMY! We were at the store and he was asking for candy but..........

 

I DON"T CARE I AM SOOOOOOO DAMN HAPPY

 

I would feel bad, but I am over it.  I have read a lot of blogs and articles that say that it is bad for the kids to call their step/pseudo mom “MOM”.  I understand that it can be hurtful to their “real” mom, but I didn’t ask them to, I didn’t force them to, they chose to. 

 

And I love them even more than I ever thought I could.

 

The email...

Ok, so this is the mail the boys received from their mother yesterday.

“Hi boys, how are you today? I would like you to ask Caribel Renee to please send me any pics she has of you, I am trying to start keeping better scrap book of the family. When she has time, thanks!

Are you learning anything in school? Did you make a lot of new friends?

I love you”

I am glad that she is attempting to write them more often, but do you really think that it is appropriate for her to ask for Babe and my memories to put in her “family” scrapbooks. It makes my feel a little violated. Sugar said it best “why doesn’t she pick us up and take her own pictures.”

She did see them last weekend, but I have a feeling that was more of her father’s idea, because he travels a lot and happened to be in town. Before that it had been since August 12^th. I just wish she would stop spending time and money on scrap booking and either pay some child support or come and see the boys.

My Pseudo In-laws

Fortunately, for many of you out there you only have one set of in-laws. I have two, my pseudo in-laws, Babe’s parents, and my SUPER pseudo in-laws the boys other grandparents.

This is difficult, Babe’s parents are ok they do not try and butt in much, except they want us to be married and mention it every time we see or talk to them. And Babe’s mom was like super woman, working and keeping the house spotless and a good cook to boot. It is a lot to live up to and I am no where close.

The mom’s mom, however, always makes me feel that nothing is good enough. We were late to one of the 2 baseball games that she attended and she said “if I were the coach I wouldn’t let them play, it’s not fair to the other kids” Geez Louise, it was t-ball. Maybe I am being unfair everyone should be able to take some criticisms and she does give good advice, but she was able to stay home with her daughters and didn’t have to rush home from work throw on uniforms and run out the door! Also, it is hard for me to take parenting criticisms from some one who raised the boys’ selfish brat of a mother (oops I have to stop that).

Is it too much to asked to be contacted a week in advance if they want to pick up the boys (their mother and grandparents are guilty of this)? We never get an email before Friday and we never get a call period for them to get them on one of the weekend days. Never overnight mind you neither their mother nor grandmother wants them for that long, their mother will do it but only when we ask and then beg, which isn’t often.

Wow! I went off on a tangent, well back to the 2 sets of in-laws thing. It is difficult; both sets seem to call me although that has been changing lately since I stopped answering the phone. I like chatting, but I always feel fake. You know even when I am having a bad day I don’t like to worry Babe’s mom and I just want the mommy’s mommy to think all is perfect and heavenly. I noticed that Babe does the same thing though. Well I hope that you never have to impress 2 sets of in-laws, it is exhausting. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

Moving happily along.

Well, it has been awhile.

We moved.

I had to let my house go. It was extremely depressing. I thought that I had done the right thing by getting into a house, but unfortunately I bought at the top of the bubble and I was not close to my work.
I could not keep up with the mortgage and the triple transportation costs and I obviously could not sell for what I owed. But the area I live in now is much more diverse and I do not live right outside of millionaire town.
This may seem bad to some people, but I am glad that the boys are not going to have to worry about all the cool stuff their friends have that we cannot afford.
The new place is bigger and it has a fenced in backyard. It'll work until we can buy again in 7 years!

My kids won't be like this!

Well my sister, babysat the boys overnight last weekend. They misbehaved a little bit or a lot I don’t know I wasn’t there. They have their good days and bad days, but for the most part they are good kids. They are loud and rough sometime, but hey they are boys and they are perfect in everyway in my eyes.

Well back to my point, I called my sis to see how they were doing and she was like well they did this and that, nothing horrible. I made the joke that this would be good practice and she said….

“My kids won’t be like this!”

I am sorry, but “ouch” that stung a little. I guess I can’t expect everyone to except their wonderful little faults as much as I do. She did backtrack and say that she meant her kids would not be so close in age and she was seriously thinking of only having one now, but I’m sure she meant what she said. But I think she will be surprised her and I are 3.5 years apart and we were no picnic let me tell you.

Venting

I guess that the boys’ mother has decided that she actually wants to be a mother to be a mother… kinda.  She took them for like three hrs last weekend and wrote them an email.  She told Sugar Bear that she would start seeing them more often but we have not heard from her since.  I know that she will still only see them every two weeks if that, but I hate that she is going to disappoint them.

We got into an argument with her about the fact that she has plenty of money for herself to have fun and party (get her hair done, go to clubs, buy her daughter a water slide for her birthday).  She says that we want her daughter to starve so she can pay us.  Well we told her that we would write off her child support up to this point if she would pay for the divorce.  She is engaged although Sugar and she are still married of course, she wanted to marry her 18-year-old boyfriend 5 months after they started dating.   I am assuming that she is the type who wants to marry everyone she dates until they start treating her nicely.  Well I guess that is the only venting I will get to do, because we promised that we would no longer criticize her as long as she starts being a mother.  So let me say I realize if I were on her side guess I might blame it on Sugar…but I know Sugar and I know that if he had the boys then he would see them more than once a week and pay her all the child support she asked for as he did before they came to live with him.  In fact he saw them at least e3 times a week during the time that we were dating before she gave the boys to Sugar.

Ok so I am done…wait…She is a stupid selfish bitch…ok I am done!

New fashion...

wBabe and Iw decided that it would be better if he stayed home with the *boys* this summer. Maybe I am too modern but I like the thought of going to work everyday and coming home to a clean house with dinner on the table. I guess it could be old fashion thinking that it is better for someone to be at home (we just got it backwards). I found out that I got my promotion…if it is enough money then he will work from home PERMANENTLY!

To hold back or not to hold back?

The baby, Teddy Bear, is below grade level in KINDERGARTEN. He is very young for the grade whereas his

big brother is one of the oldest. We are seriously considering holding him back.


I am worried how it will hurt his self-esteem. My sister was one of the youngest kids in her class also and she struggled through elementary school. She of course turned out , but with his

already low self-esteem, he may be better off being one of the SMARTEST kids in class by being held back.

I the little guy and I feel that this is a huge decision. It may affect the rest of his life!

Heroes

Yesterday it rained off and on all day. Despite the weather, my two friends and I decided to be adventurous and take our kids swimming. When we got to the pool, it was beautiful, the boys started playing with girls, and we even made new Brazilian friends. Life was good!

Then CRACK BOOM, the sky opened up!

Now, most parents Pseudo or not would have given up, but not us. We hunkered down under a large gazebo. The rain would stop in 5 minutes and hey, we were there to get wet anyway!

The rain was coming from all sides. We couldn’t go anywhere if we wanted to now. We kept the young ones warm as the wind howled and the mist soaked us.

Finally, the rain let up and the kids had a great time.

Money is the root of all evil!

I am sitting in the living room looking at the boys. They passed out watching Star Wars Episode I.

I am tired and yet I can’t sleep. I guess I am under the same stress as everyone else in this economy.

I just worry about whether the boys are having a good life.

We do not have money, but we live near one of the wealthiest areas in our little part of the world.

Most of the boys’ friends at school and on their baseball teams have A LOT of money. I know that it shouldn’t matter, but I know it will someday.

I don’t want them to feel that they should have everything that their friends have, but I want them to feel they have enough. I know growing up I wasn’t rich, but I knew that my parents would give me anything I needed.

I am worried that the way life is going we may not always beable to provide that.

I am attending school to get an MBA, but when that pays off I would really like Babe to quit working and spend more time with the boys and CLEAN MY HOUSE (so I don’t have to J)!!!

This will again leave us with less than others, but I really think that the boys need someone at home, with everything they have been through. They love their dad and it would help us to be able to get homework, housework, etc. done.

I really like the whole my house will be clean and my dinner will be on the table concept!!