I am... COLD!! Wind is blowing hard enough that I wonder if I shouldn't take the flag down. My daughter wants tme to go with her to get the baby's hair cut. Losely translated she wants me to pay for it.

He will be that magical age most mothers probably try to forget... Two! She wants to have a party for him at Chuckie Cheese and wanted to know if I could contribute some money to help pay for this.

I can't afford to take myself to Chuckie Cheese, not that I would with a bunch of kids running around to play games and eat pizza. Did it once, never again!! That place simply frightens me!

I pointed out to her that he's ... TWO! He won't remember if you took him to Chuckie Cheese, he won't remember the celebration of his birthday, in fact... he won't care. I know, mother of the year award for me, right?

She's aware that he won't remember it so I interjected.. "Then say it like it is, the party is for the adults in his life!"

Then she pointed out the argument I couldn't deny.. "He can still have fun." Yet it makes no sense to me to have a party like that when everyone is so broke. Add to it she'll want us to be there and she was going to hit her dad up for money and invite him. Uhm.. another reason to stay home. We are divorced for a reason.. actually we could do these things until he got married. Then, he seemed far less willing to make it easier for the kids and combine it. So, I figure she's not comfortable hanging around the ex wife.. I can understand and I'm okay with that.

I can't afford 70 bucks right now. I can't figure out how I'm going to pay my bills yet so a party for a two year old isn't high on my priority list. If she wanted to cut it down to family we could have a home made party here or better yet at her house, it is her son!

Of course she understandably doesn't want to have ten children plus parents at her apartment so she was going for Chucky Cheese. I say.. wait till he's older for that. That's my thought cause he'll still love her no matter what she does for him.

Just wait till he gets older though. We've never really been able to have a birthday party for her. Her birthday was the 12th of January and report cards come out about the this time... everyone was grounded for her birthday. Eventually I quit getting her excited cause she'd go to everyone's birthday with gift in hand and when hers came around she got... report cards!!

I know I should feel bad for him but my son was sitting here after work and looked so terribly .... bummed out!

I asked him what was wrong and I got the standard.. "nothing." He got the standard.. "are you sure?" To which there was a long sigh and he turned to me and said, "Mom, I'm BORED! I don't have anything to go home to."

I was trying not to giggle. He's missing his XBOX. We got him a new game for Christmas and he really has wanted to play it!! So, I would try not to laugh because I know I'd be the same way if I didn't have a computer.

Then he said to me his room mate and best friend told him he's taking this worse than his last break up. Okay, loving mother I may or may not be but I did giggle and said, "It's no wonder! You had the game to keep your mind occupied when she left you!"

I sure hope they fix it for him even with the faceplate having been removed.

Christmas 2007 we got an XBOX 360 for the Kiddo's father. That is his one stress relief... his video games. He even quit smoking until he let the ex move in... no amount of video games could counteract the stress he was under once she moved in.

Christmas 2008 we got him a new game to play in the XBox. The 28th he tried to play it and got a red light with an E74 message. He called and did all the trouble shooting he was told to do. They said he would have to send it in and for a mere ninety dollars they would repair it.

He doesn't have that kind of money. He's GOT to get tires and brakes on his car and get it inspected and registered this month. The one thing he likes doing was ... gone. He took the face off..only the face to see if perhaps dust was a problem and that was a mistake but I didn't know this until much later.

I called and got a very nice lady who had me on hold forever so she could talk to his supervisor regarding a warranty that expired on Christmas day... perhaps they'd fix it free. Bingo!!! My ears still ring from the music I got to listen to for an hour but they'd fix it free.

She then explained to me the packing instructions and the box cannot have been opened or they will send it back and not fix it.... EVEN if we pay to have it fixed. Excuse me??? If you pay for a service why can't they fix it? But I did not yet think it was a problem until my son walked in. I told him about this free part and he was excited. His face fell right off and landed on the floor when I said he cannot have opened the box.

He had, and a sticker came off. She said to send it in anyway. The worst that would happen is that they'd send it back and not repair it. At all.

So, he runs home and gets his original box thinking it would be better to ship it in that box inside another box. I wanted him to go to the post office but since we had plans he wanted to try UPS first. Here is where the surprise in all this came in.

At the UPS store before I could finish explaining that the numbers had to be on four sides of the box she and doesn't she want to know those numbers she knew where to find it on the shipping paper. It would be... FREE!! Talk about luck!! It was still twelve bucks to buy the shipping material because they have a box SPECIFICALLY made for shipping the XBOX's back in for repairs.

My son and I just looked at each other for a moment before he asked her, "You really have a box made for this?" It was here she explained that they ship out about five a day for repairs. You would think Microsoft would put out a product better than that and if is later found to have flaws that they would recall it or something. Had I not called he'd have paid ninety bucks to have it fixed or not have a game. My son plays it but he also works and takes care of his daughter. He doesn't play it hours and hours on end like.. oh.. maybe I would if I had it.

There are kids out there that have saved for a supposedly good quality machine and they can't afford to have it break. My son MIGHT be leant a game from a friend of his that finally gave up and replaced his with another machine.. Playstation maybe? He's sent his XBox in three or four times for repairs. He has it back but doesn't use it so he might let my son use it till his comes back.

I just hate to see something youngsters... anyone for that matter... pay for something you expect to be of good quality only to find out it's not. Then again, there was a reason I quit using Microsoft prodocts for my primary machines.

On another note.. he thinks his landlord might have a lawyer lined up for him. His landlord has, of course, seen what has gone on. It's FINALLY starting to look far more promising for my son. In April his daughter will have lived with him for a year even if the mother lived there for five or six months, she still collected child support and paid no rent or food. My son did. So far, she's been moved out two or two and a half months with him having his daughter. She still hasn't gotten busted. If my son did half the stuff she did he'd have been busted twenty times over.. I don't get it. The mother is currently homeless. Yep.. it's looking up for him and mostly for the Kiddo!!

Should I have posted this last night? Maybe.... it's never too late to wish someone the best of luck and joy in the new year!

We went to see Alonzo Boden. The first time we saw him was during bike week in Virginia Beach. We were walking down the sidewalk and were given free tickets to a comedy show. My husband loves comedy shows but it was about to start. There was no time for running back to the hotel and changing so we went, I in my T-shirt and he in his tank top, went to the first comedy show I'd ever been to and what luck!! We were seated up front!

Luck, it turns out, is rather subjective?? The first comedian was funny but spent considerable time pointing out that my husband's dress was less than satisfactory. The second one came out and she was sure he he spent his days stoned and he could identify with what she spoke of.

The last one, a very tall man... walked out, picked up the microphone and said, "I'm leaving you alone! You look like an axe murderer and I want you on my side!" This was a joke on occasion through the show and has never been forgotten. So, when I saw he was appearing for New Years Eve I got my husband tickets as a Christmas present.

We have never been out on New Years Eve. My husband doesn't like being out when other people are out drinking and driving. For someone that wasn't fond of being out there driving over two hours.. did I mention that? It is a two hour drive? He certainly had a good time and I am not sure he stopped laughing. As we got in the car he said he was glad I'd gotten the tickets! YES!

Then, I sent my daughter a text message telling her Happy New Year. She actually texted back, several times. Seems the event she had been invited to was formal and she hadn't been let in on that tidbit of information so she was under dressed. A few months ago there would not have been an actual exchange of text messages with her. At best I could have hoped for was... "Ok." I missed her last message and didn't see it until this morning.

The year, despite all of it's downs, a few ups, and lots of stress ended on a really good note. I think this bodes well for the year 2009 my family and for yours as well.. I do wish you all the best!

This was supposed to be saved as a draft and not published as I got called away and didn't get to finish it!! Yes.. I admit.. I'm a dork!

I shopped for him for Christmas. He got three pair of jeans. One pair, which have not yet arrived, are fleece lined for when he's on the bike in the winter months. I also got him tickets to a comedy show on New Years Eve. Nothing exciting but he is very hard to shop for. He wants only tools; which equates to buying me a vacuum cleaner. Or.. he already has purchased anything you can think of that he may want. So, I was stumped this year and we don't have much money so we tried to make Christmas for the children.

He too shopped. I had two neatly wrapped gifts that he set next to him on Christmas Eve... Dang, I can't shake them without him knowing!! The first one was this watch to replace the one I broke when I forgot to take it off before getting into the pool with the Kiddo. Uhm.. I better NOT forget this one!

The second one is one I had for many months read about, watched commercials, and basically drooled over but I would never buy. But, hey.. a person can dream can't they? It was too costly especially when I can go in and get a phone for fifty bucks or less. A white iPhone. I was going to call Friday to make sure I had her number right but I can't talk! Well, I squeak and people can't understand me so before I call anyone on my new phone, I better wait till the bronchitis is gone.. darn. But, eh.. I can play on it alot!

The best Christmas present? The total cost for both items??? Apparently around $250.00. He said he's known what he's going to get for months and for months he's tucked away money, he's collected coupons and he's learned how to sign onto an account I once made then never used so I had no idea what the login information was. Less than fifty dollars was put onto a credit card.

I think that's just... awesome. Even more awesome... is that while I have these two items he swears to me he loves his Levi's. It's okay.. really, I know they are only jeans!!

I can make entries from my iPhone!!
merry Christmas everyone

I started going through old blogs. I didn't find a lot so far but what I did find I hadn't yet saved. My daughter got on the computer and now it's gone... just... gone. So I have to start over.

Insert Appropriate Cuss Word Here!

I don't feel good. I'm putting Vicks on the bottom of my feet 'just in case' it works. Pretty bad, huh??

That's how I woke up and it went downhill from there. The worse ones were my daughter showing up with news. It seems the baby's father has taken up with a new female. One that is a carrier of the MRSA, often pronounced mersa. In short it is a staph infection that is pretty much resistent to most antibiotics and can be fatal. The baby of course has now been exposed to this person.

Now, it seems that the father tried to throw in her face a person she's met that ONCE had it and was treated for it. He has no insurance and went to the hospital to be checked, at his expense to ensure he was clear of the illness. While he was there they gave him an IV of the antibiotics that had worked for him. He has been declared and deemed healthy and safe to be around. This other woman apparently is not.

While she's telling me all of this I'm thinking to myself, 'baby exposes us, we pass it each other. Each of the men pass it to different people they work with which adds up since they are at different job sites all the time. But the bigger numbers come in when I think of the Kiddo.

Imagine all those children, their friends and their families and you see where I'm headed? I've got an epidemic going on in my head and we don't even know for certain that he's contracted MRSA.

Kiddo made it all day in school. However... Yes, there is a HUGE however; something must have happened at lunch? Her mood went downhill and she got sent to the office. For once they let her calm down and sent her back to class but she was not happy the rest of the day. So, for the first time in two weeks she got a yellow or red..not sure which but it's not a green.

Then, she started having a temper tantrum on me. I kept trying to pick her up and put her back into the corner and then she started kicking. I was getting angry because she's FIVE she shouldn't be acting like this. But I did not know anger.. no, not even anger so much as pain until she kicked me in the temple with her heel.

So, I'll get it worked out and my son called and guess who was coming to pick her up? So, she doesn't get punished, there's no problem.. kick Grandma and leave with Mom. I didn't tell mom.. but I did forget to send home this collection of school papers she wants. Oh well. I hope the mother isn't at the meeting tomorrow because I really don't want to get into why I changed the address the Kiddo lives at. That was her fault for registering her wrong.. and I didn't know she did that so I stepped into something that got fixed. She however will be angry I'm sure.

I tried to take a picture of the Kiddo to show why I had hoped her mother would let me take her to get her hair cut, maybe get some bangs but I don't think it turned out. Suffice it to say.. yesterday it was a screaming match because the knots were so bad in her hair. Today.. she took the hair ties out and she looked like Cousin It. She deserves better than that.

I need to figure out how to get this car seat back in and go get the baby cause I GUESS I'm supposed to pick him up. She said she was going to tell his dad I was sick but knowing him, that's not his problem.

Sometimes I don't want to do this anymore. Sometimes it's not the children and it's not my kids that are a problem it's dealing with the OTHER parents... the ones that complain if I might have a pair of pants that only the little girl can fit into, (which I don't) or that doesn't give a rat's bottom if someone is sick... one day I needed off for work and the baby's father was off. He had "things" to do that day so I had to work with the baby in tow. This... and getting kicked in the head is why I'm tired. But for MY kids, and for MY grandkids I will plug along but I wish the other parents would use the bathroom or get off the pot cause I don't have time for their stuff and neither do their children.

How can you know someone has a contagious but potentially fatal "illness" for lack of a better word, and bring your child around said person? That's chlid neglect if I ever heard it.

For some reason I packed my notebook so I could write down all those thoughts, reminders or humorous moments that popped up while we went to Pennsylvania. So, there it was in the trunk rather than the front seat of the car and the small things I've long since forgotten.

It was peaceful, it was quiet and we saw some friends we don't often see. We got some Christmas shopping done, we got the Kiddo her first porcelain doll. Yes, it was a cheap one but my husband figures she'll want to play with it. She pretty much leaves my daughter's dolls alone so maybe she'll be okay with them.

Actually, every year we'd made this ride to Lancaster to a doll shop and bought our daughter one. Now she's moved out and grown. So, I think my husband is planning on seeing what the Kiddo does with this cheaper version of a doll and if she takes care of it then he won't mind paying for the collecting kind.

But, the really funny thing is a phone call I got. I had sent a picture to the son of my husband's cousin. Husband's cousin doesn't get pictures on his phone. My husband tried to call both cousin and son... and didn't reach them. When my phone rang later in the day I heard the gravely voice with that mischievous laughter, more like a giggle, say, "Hello, Judy!"

Judy is not my name but for some reason the cousin always thought it was Shirley. Me, not feeling comfortable correcting him the second and third time just simply answered to him. This was three years ago. One day someone finally reminded him that Shirley was another relative and reminded him of my name. At that point he just laughed and I became whatever name he happened to think of at the time. I've answered to Jane, Mary, Mildred, Gertrude.. you get the idea.

So, today I was apparently "Judy" and this threw me off but for some reason he told me "This is Bill." Bill of course is not his name and actually I used his name but there was that hint of a giggle in his voice and I went with it. There was the usual idle chit chat, the how are you's, what are you up to and finally 'Bill' spit it out. "I got a phone call about the accident you were in last night."

Accident? Uhm.. and the laughter was gone from his voice replaced with concern and I knew something was wrong. "You were called that I was in an accident?" When he remained serious I quickly told him I'm sorry he has the wrong number.. the wrong Judy. And "Good luck I hope she's okay."

I hung up the phone and looked rather perplexed as I told my husband who quickly pulled his phone out to call his cousin and tell him. Laughing the whole time until he hung up again still unable to reach his cousin.

After that was the long ride home. Traffic was horrid today. A three hour ride took more like five or six. I slept and coughed. He sniffed and drove. Seems I do the ultimately gross thing.. in my sleep I cough and often times on him. I was about to pack up my pillows and blanket and sleep on the couch but he would rather I stay there in the bed.. so now he's sick too.

The only glitch in this is that all day I've thought it was Sunday. During traffic I tried to pull up the football scores. When my husband realized what I was doing he once again reminded me it wis Saturday. Then, I came downstairs with every intention of watching Desperate Housewives only to be reminded that it's been Saturday the last twenty times I questioned it.. it's still Saturday.

The question now is.. what will my name be if his cousin calls back and what day will I think it is?

My husband wants to make rocking chairs for four children. We were talking about getting someone to help and we could set up a factory out there and get them all done. Not sure what I could do I offered to put a decal for each child on them. Then my husband said I could paint them! Paint has been off limits since I stepped in a paint can and I get to paint!
Maybe