The conclusion to "the gasp" from the previous post

So, I dropped the kids off with Tim and whatsherface yesterday. She was already out of the car when we pulled in and I was going to let them approach me cause I really wasn't interested in what they had to say. Or so I thought.

Tim gets out of the car as the boys are getting into their car and he has papers in his hand. Now, in my head I think, "Oh my God. What is he serving me with NOW?" He hands them to me and asks if I had gotten a copy. I quickly glance over the packet and notice that it is from the school district and it is regarding Brandon's TAG results. Wait...*blink blink blink*I never consented to him being tested for TAG. I had told Tim, Brandon's teacher and Brandon's psychologist that I had considered him being placed, but I wanted him to mature a little more before being put through another change. So, while Tim (I assume, since the letter was addressed to him) allowed them to test Brandon for TAG, I was unaware. But, I guess I don't mind. I knew he would make it. He qualified based on his Math and Reading. Good job, kiddo. So, his teacher will come up with a PEP (Personal Education Plan) for him next year and this last through the end of 5th grade, where he will be evaluated again to see if he needs to be in it for 6th grade.

While talking to my mom, I found that I was put in GATE (California's version of TAG) for my Reading and Vocabulary? Yay me. I don't know what happened to said Vocabulary, but, meh.

So, we talked, civilly for about 10 minutes or so. In the almost 2 years that Nick and I have been together, we have never talked face to face except the one time that I cornered Tim when his wife wasn't there and screamed at him for something. We talked about sports. Devin is going to do football and Brandon will be in soccer. We hope that they both do well enough to earn the privelage to play baseball in the Spring. They mentioned they would need our help with the sports in the sense that games and/or practices may overlap and one set of parents would need to be in one place while the other set was in the other. We could possibly swap at half time. I'm excited for the kids, they need the extra-cirricular activities.

Nick mentioned to me this afternoon that he had been interviewed by the VP? of his company for a Sales Manager position he applied for. He has applied for a couple of Sales positions (mainly for the pay increase, I think) and was overlooked. He got his chance to talk this time and I am so proud. While the VP said that they prefer someone with more Sales experience, they wouldn't mind giving him a shot as a Sales Coordinator should a position come up. So, Nick (again, so proud) spoke up and asked if there was anything he could do to better his understanding of the position and he suggested getting him set up with a training class. YAY! While I don't really think he should be going for the position for the reason he is, I also know he is not happy in the position he is currently in. Not that he doesn't like the work, but he doesn't like the lack of work his co-worker does in the same area. I don't like the idea of him having to travel like he will have to. He hates just being away from me for the 8 hours while at work (and I do, too), but if that's what makes him happy, so be it. So, we will keep our fingers crossed and cross the bridge when we get there.

Time marches on

Well, here we are, damn it...the in-laws will be home tomorrow. It was SOOO nice to have such a long break, but we sure miss the girls around here. Has to be really hard on their mom. She gets them back for 2 nights and then they come to our house for 8 days. Hey, her choice, but I still feel for her.

The oldest boys leave for their dad's today at 3 until Sunday, just like normal. I got a phone call out of the blue from "him" yesterday asking if I ever got his text. When I informed him I never got such a thing, he told me he must have sent it to my old number (for whatever reason, he hasn't seemed to delete it yet). So, I asked him what it was about and he said that he wanted to know what school the kids were going to next year because he was inquiring about sports (insert gasp here) for them and they needed to know. I told them that despite my animosity for him, they would be returning to Fruitdale. Not to convenience him any, but because it is a VERY good school and they treated us VERY well this last year. They understand the situation between Tim and I and all the visitation and they are still allowing the kids to come back, even though we don't live in the boundaries. I feel very thankful for this.

Both of the kids told me they have been waiting to play baseball (I thought baseball "season" was over), but Tim is giving them the option of Soccer or Football. Devin has played a year of both (albeit soccer wasn't the league, it was with the Y when he was 5) and Brandon has yet to play because I am scared for his behavior issues. Tim has agreed with me that we need to let him try. Devin has chosen Football once again and Brandon has chosen Soccer (if baseball is not available in the Fall). I am very proud of them but nervous about the practice schedule coinciding with any chances of me getting/having a job.

The kids have done fairly well since school has let out. They are 100% willing to help me out when asked. I just wish they were old enough to do the dishes so I didn't have to hurt every time I did. Although they do the laundry (I just have to measure out the amount of clothes and do the soap and softener) and take out the garbage for me, I just don't trust them with that yet. lol

Devin and Allison's birthdays are next month. Alli's on the 3rd and Devin's on the 25th. We are going to combine the parties like we did with Brandon and Emma this year, can't really afford to do 2 different ones. We have decided to have it at Morrison park so that the kids (and adults if they wanna) can get wet, eat and play, all at the same time! It's a pretty park, I just wish it had more shade or gazebos. Then we don't have another birthday until mine in October, which doesn't ever amount to much and then Eli's Thomas themed party in December!

Alright, I have rambled enough. On with your day!

It's a hard knock life

So, my son has, apparently, reached a point in his toddler-hood that he has decided to do things outta the norm. He is usually pretty good at associating pens, pencils, crayons and the like with paper ONLY. So, the other day the boys are switching the laundry for me and I hear, "MOOOM!!! COME HERE!!!!"

This is what I found:

AND

I especially like the detail he went into on the dryer, quite creative.

Magic Eraser, here I come!

So, then after a few days of "behaving", I get pictures like these:

So, today I am sitting here, minding my own business planting my farm on Facebook and I hear another "UM...MOM?! Elijah is painting his hands and head!"

I jump up. "WHAT?!?!"

I ran into my bedroom to find pink nailpolish open and indeed all over his hands, head and my khaki down comforter.

I was so upset that I called Nick at work. No answer. So, I called my friend and told her she needed to think of something for me to do cause I was so pissed off I couldn't think straight. She told me the most obvious was to get the nail polish remover. So, I rinsed his hands off in the sink and grabbed my comforter, dragging it into the livingroom and sat and cried while scrubbing the nail polish off my beloved blanket. No luck. It took the thickness of the polish out, but not the color. I then polish removed Elijah's hands. And thought, what am I going to do about his head/hair? I quickly doused his head with remover and rubbed away with no such luck. I threw him in the shower, shampooed his head (twice) and got him out. By this time the polish was dry, so I took a brush and yanked through his hair best I could. It started out like this:

(that would be the corner of my blanket on the left side of the shot)

After the shower and the brushing, it looked more like this:

Sometimes I think God is looking down at me and laughing. lol

Man. I tell ya. This kid is gonna be the death of me.

I'm really just floored right now

I just don't understand the jealousy between me and the video games. Other than the fact that I feel left out. I like to play that game, too, but while he asked me twice if I wanted to play, there was no way it could happen. He has enough friends on Xbox Live to create a small Army, so there was no room in the group. Not to mention that he was playing with the friends that I have had conflicts with in the past (ie: name calling because I'm a girl and I whooped 'em, plain and simple)...but, instead of him saying, "Hey, Des wants to play, too.", he lets it go. Doesn't say anything to anyone.

I decide to let it go and start my crocheting. That didn't take off well cause I got confused and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right, and my glorious MIL who taught me how to do this, is gone. So, I tried getting on the computer. But I get bored on the computer. So, I got dressed and went for my daily walk, alone. It was nice to not have to push the 40lb. sack-0f-potatoes up and down all those hills, but he didn't even realize I left. Sad thing? I walked in between him and the tv multiple times, fully dressed in my walking outfit. Then, I walked right out the front door that he was sitting next to. I decided to text him after I hit the road and let him know to keep an ear out for the kids who were occupying themselves at the time. I didn't get a response until I was about at the end of the line and ready to turn home and it only consisted of, "Where did you go?" I replied with, "Out." because I was in quite a stride and didn't want to lose it to stop and text and I can't text and walk too well.

I walked as fast and as hard as I could to get all the animosity out, only to find I never got an acknowledgment that I was home. I let it go. I got in the shower, got out, finished dessert and served it to the kids, sat down at the computer (again, next to him) and started surfing the web. I was reading Susan's blog when I saw him get up and look in the little basket that holds all of our Xbox junk and noticed he was probably looking for the plug and play charger that I had loaned the kids who are playing the other Xbox in our room. I went in (without him speaking to me in anyway), grabbed it from the kids who were done using it, and brought it out and tossed it on the couch. He picked it up and plugged it and and guess what?! NOTHIN! I didn't get a thanks, an F-You, nothin.

This is getting very bothersome that his WHOLE freaking life just STOPS when it comes to the games. It's ridiculous. Really.

(and on a side note, now that he saw me typing this up, he will probably find it and "the shitteth will hitteth the fanneth"! Oh well, at least I will get him to acknowledge I'm alive)

General ramblings from a derranged mind

Things have been happening. Some good, mostly bad. Story of my life, right? But, I'm not here to focus on ALL the bad things, just want to post because I haven't in awhile.

Where to start...

I seemed to have pulled out of most of my depression once the sun came out and I was out of the house more and things calmed down enough that I wasn't constantly crying. It's not ALL gone, I don't know that it ever will be, but I feel a lot better than I used to on a day to day basis.

My in-laws left to Oklahoma for 2 weeks last Monday. I could only hope that they would decide to come back, pack up and leave. Knowing my luck, that won't be the case. I appreciate all they have done for us and then some, but I really just want away from here. With the 3 of us being unemployed and having a 2 1/2 year old in the house full time and 4 others part time, I really just can't deal. They will be back next Monday night, I'd assume, with the girls in tow.

I had an "interview" on Friday. I only put it in quotes because she really just wanted to meet me and then told me to tell her about myself. It only took about 10 minutes and I'm supposed to hear back anytime now on if I got the job as a glorious "Sandwich Artist" at Subway. LOL Hey, it's a job.

I did the dishes today. It killed me in the process, but I still, eventually, got them done. I started thinking about it as I was scrubbing the pots and pans from last night's baked chicken and pasta and wondered why it is when Nick does the dishes, he leaves the pots and pans (about 96% of the time) and when I have asked him why in the past, he tells me to just be happy he helped (more or less). I AM happy he helps, as pretty soon I don't think I will be able to do it, so either he or the kids will have to take over, but I just wonder why. Men. LOL

So, my kids are absolutely amazing. Both Devin and Brandon have been recognized for being the top readers in their classes with the most AR (Academic Reading) Points each. They read books and then take tests on the computer, they get points based on the level book that they read and on how many questions they got right. They have been helping me around the house, too. They put the wet stuff in the dryer and start it and bring me the dry stuff. They have been taking the garbage out and other various things. Of course, I DID have to bring the word "Allowance" into it, but hey, it gets them going!

Elijah is a prodigy all on his own. For being 2 1/2, he is something. He can count to 14 in english and spanish (rarely missing a number), he can visually recognize his numbers to 10, he is singing Twinkle, Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider and is working on Old MacDonald and his ABC's. He is starting to recognize his letters, but I think he gets overwhelmed. Just about everything is the letter "E" to him right now, but he's working on it. He is making complete sentences such as, "I don't like that." "I don't want that." "I don't see it." "That's beautiful, Mommy." "Where is my other sandal shoe?" lol I caught him playing on the house phone the other day, the conversation went something like this:

"Hello? Hi. *insert jarble* strawberries! *insert more jarble* Okay? Bye." and he sets the phone down. lol

Kids, gotta love them.

Random thoughts

My poor son is a flea magnet. The cats have fleas and we can't seem to get them under control cause they are indoor/outdoor cats. We can't bomb the house cause God forbid my in laws leave the house long enough for us to be able to, so we either treat the cats as much as we can and use spray on the bedding and floors as much as possible, or we (being Elijah) suffer. He has at least one new bite every day, he scratches himself bloody from the itching and I just can't keep stuff on him that helps him. Giving him Benadryl every day isn't feasible, so I guess when my in laws go out of town on the 1st for a couple weeks, we will be bombing the house. I hope they get under control cause he is the ONLY one who is getting bitten. They don't touch the rest of us!

I'm pretty sure I totally bombed my phone interview with Enterprise Rent A Car's call center today. Hopefully they understand that I was just nervous. I will be contacted by email or phone within 5-7 days to tell me how good or bad it went. If I got the job, I would be required to work Saturday and Sunday, 40 hours a week and my shifts would be from 12 or 12:30 in the afternoon until 9 or 9:30 at night. But, there is the potential to work from home at some point if you do a good job and they like you enough. That would make my day, since we would be living 30 minutes away from work. I should have gone for the part time position, but Nick will be unemployed for the summer if I do get this, so we could use the money.

I'm about ready to go crawl back into bed. Today is "one of those days". I just woke up and don't want to be up and about. Depression is a horrible thing. I know I need medication, but I don't know how we are going to afford it and then I have to convince Nick that I do, in fact, need it. He doesn't think I do, but that's because he is really the only one who can make me feel better. I count the minutes until he comes home so that I can have adult interaction and a should to cry on or snuggle up to if I need it. He is my rock but unfortunately, he can't be around me 24/7.

I'm tired of the Old Navy bathing suit commercials. They are on every commercial break and getting very annoying.

A weekend away

I needed a break, from life. Unfortunately, it seems that I need them more often than I can get them.

1.) It costs money.

2.) I don't have money.

3.) Weekend are normally pretty screwed up because Elijah leaves Saturday afternoons, 3 weekends a month and we have to be back to town by 7pm on Sunday to pick up the other boys from their dad.

*sigh*

So, we decided to get away. We went to Cottage Grove, I have friends there that are more than willing to take us on with open arms. We brought all 3 boys with us because they were all home for Mother's Day weekend. We left here Friday. We should have left at 2:30, but low and behold, my middle son doesn't listen and got on the bus after school when I was sitting right there waiting to pick him up. Oh well, I met him at the Boys and Girls Club and got him in the truck. Then I had to stop and give my mom her Mother's Day stuff at her work. Then we went and picked Nick up from work, stopped at Dutch Bros. cause it was MDA day and all proceeds went to Muscular Dystrophy Association which we highly support (Nick's Dad and Brother have it). We started our way up, made the trip with no major meltdowns or anything. It's the furthest North Elijah has been. He's been South, to Yreka and San Fransisco. We spent some time at the park while our friends were finishing up a movie and being stuck in traffic in Eugene. Ran to the store and got the kids some milk, ran and got pizza for dinner and went to the house to settle in.

Friday night was a bad night for Elijah. He couldn't sleep well. At all. New place, new bed, all 3 kids in one bed, etc. So, I had little to no sleep Friday night. Saturday we got up and went to Eugene for breakfast. Had a yummy breakfast and went to a hardware store to get a key cut. By then, Elijah was soaked. I had forgotten to check his pull-up before we left the house and the diaper bag was in the house because it had toys in it that he was playing with. So, we had no extra clothes and no diapers. After the hardware store, we went to Wal Mart across the street from where I used to live, found him pants and a shirt for $2.50 each and got him some new pull-ups. Changed him in the truck, drove around for awhile, went to the mall, walked around, got Nick a new shirt, got some Cinnabon and got the kids some candy. Left the mall to get gas and went back to Cottage Grove. We bummed around the house for awhile, they left for awhile, I think I took a little nap, they came home, we had dinner and then went to the Cottage Grove Speedway, or whatever it was called. I was hesitant about going, but was going to do it for Nick. The kids liked it, Elijah liked it the most, Devin was into it, but Brandon was bored out of his mind. Our friends left early, around 9:30 and I asked if they would take the older 2 with them. they did and we stayed til it was over at 11:30. 4.5 hours at a race track. Me? Yeah. It was freaking AWESOME. I loved it. It was a dirt track, not very big, but it was SOOO fun. At one point, a dirt claud came through the fence and bounced off Elijah's back, but he was okay, never even flinched.

We went back to the house and put Eli to bed on the floor in our room, hoping he would sleep better. He fell asleep around midnight and woke up at 5am. Not much sleep at all. I went to bed around 1 and got up with him at 5, so I was dragging for the first part of the day Sunday. Jenny made us french toast and bacon for breakfast and then they left for Eugene for shopping or something. I passed out on the bed while Nick and Elijah were playing and then Eli passed out on the couch so Nick put him in bed with me. I got up and we bummed around the house some more. Our friends got home from Eugene and we started packing up for the trip home.

We came home and I was annoyed within 30 seconds of being here. But, we sold our old phones, so I made $200! Woo! That made up for the annoyance a little bit.

Nick made me dinner. He made chicken fingers and pasta roni, per my request. It was wonderful and I loved it!