Lost Movies

I can't believe it. I've lost two rental movies. The kids got ready to watch The Black Stallion, and noticed there was no movie in the case. When I turned it in, I told them and they were just like "ok". Then I turned in several other movies, and they called the next day and said that Twitches-Teen Witches was not in the case when I turned it in. Now I am 100% positive I saw that one! I can't figure out what's happening.

Logan's Pants

Last night I hemmed two pair of pants I just bought for Logan. One of them got hemmed wrong with the cut portion turned outside instead of inside. I got up this morning, took that hem out, and turned it over. He put them on and wore them today...and I see they are almost too short. I spent $30 on two pair of pants and now they are short. I am so aggrivated.

Lexie and Logan at School

This is when I came in after work and picked Lexie and Logan up from the YMCA program. They always like to stop and get a drink before we head home.

Long Weekend Sunday

Sunday was fun. I relaxed that morning and finished my book. It's the third in the Brian Lumley "Necroscope" series. I'd read it before long ago, and it had been time to re-read some of those old books I've loved in the past. I get them as used at the bookstores for cheap and I will keep them until the kids get old enough to read them. I hope they will like them as much as I do. Finished that, and Theresia made us coffee. Then I went out to Autozone. She needed bulbs for her driver-side front turn signals. Also, my lower fog lamp was out so I got that. I replaced them all, including her headlights (she'd already bought those and I put them in first). So I did that, and she made lunch-the best salmon patties I've ever had! She also made broccoli. You know, she keeps saying "I can't cook..." but it's all a smoke-screen because she HATES to cook. I just know it because everything she ever fixed for me has been tasty. She also made chocolate pudding the night before!!! I KNOW SHE CAN COOK AND SHE'S NOT FOOLING ME!!!

After that, Jeff came over and got Kendall. I was finishing laundry (well she finished it and I sorted it), and then she was up on this chair putting a new smoke/CO filter in and was having trouble with it so I did it. Then she said "next weekend or sometime I want you to help me put in this new light. I told her to turn off the switch and I just got out my screwdriver and took the old one out and put the new one in. It's much easier having somebody who will hand you stuff, be patient with you, and freak out when you act like you're getting shocked. It made me feel good to get those lights changed and help her out a little around the house. I am DYING to get over there with my cordless drill and put a new toilet paper roll holder in. Man that is bugging me!

Well, we left after that and went over to my place. Watched a little more TV, then she had to go get Rachael. I was alone, so I put some laundry away and just bummed around. I remembered I had to go to the store, but it was 6:30 and I didn't think I'd have time. I needed to go to get Lexie and Logan socks-I'd thrown away about three pairs that had holes in the heels. Also since I'd bought pants that needed hemmed, I needed thread in colors to match. I picked up the kids and we went to Michaels, then Wal-Mart. Then we went home and got ready for bed. End of weekend.

Long Weekend Saturday

Ok. We woke up and watched some more TV, ate some of the never-ending leftovers. Theresia left to go get some things done before she had to watch her granddaughter Kendall. I was lounging some, and getting laundry packed together. I came over and mowed her lawn while she started my laundry. We had broiled salmon and salad for supper, watched TV, played with Kendall, and did laundry. We saw "Slipstream", "Dead Meat" and something else I don't remember--nothing outstanding. You know if it was, I would blog it. Dead Meat was interesting and kept your attention for a b-grade horror. It was better than a lot of them I've rented recently. I stayed late, still not done with laundry, and woke up and Theresia had almost finished it.

Long Weekend Friday

Friday the kids went out to play outside, and I stayed in, cleaning house, getting laundry together, and doing the huge pile of dishes from the day before. Then we HAD to get them some clothes. I went to Goodwill and found several shirts for Lexie, and two pair of pants. For Logan I found one pair of pants. They hate every second of clothes shopping and it was miserable for me knowing they would be going with their mom soon and I would not see them for the rest of the
night, plus all of Saturday, and most all of Sunday. I was very bummed that we were not having fun, and I was already missing them.

We went to the mall at St. Matthews and J.C. Penny's. I found (on sale) a pair of pants for Logan and two shirts. Shellie meets us there, and I try to find a pair of pants for Lexie quickly, but
everything she tries on is either too big or too small. I give up, they are miserable anyway, and they leave while I go to pay. I saw them outside leaving as I was coming out--I almost cried. I felt so d@mn bad on the way home that I stopped at two pet stores. I got each of them a little critter keeper. I'm going to get them gerbils for Christmas. I found out it has to be mice or gerbils. Guinea pigs are too big, and hamsters are solitary and will bully and fight if put
together. I've known people who had ferrets, and I don't want my apartment to smell like that--so it's definitely gerbils.

Theresia was spending the day with Rachael, so I just moped around the apartment. I eventually watched a movie. It must have sucked because I don't remember what I watched. Friday night, Theresia came over and we went out for supper. She is so sweet--she didn't expect me to pay (sometimes I do and sometimes she does). We both have Christmas
coming up so we went dutch. We went to Bullfrog Garden in Spanish Cove shopping center. I walked in (the second time I've been in the building) and was kind of put off. The place is a bar people. Just a bar. It's not a restaurant. The booths and tables are an afterthought and you expect the food will be grill-bar-deep-fried appetizers and burgers/sandwiches. I went once before and turned around because I really wanted a restaurant. Well we were tired and
so I sat. The waitress--also the bartender--came and brought our menus which were one two-sided laminated sheet. Well, this didn't seem like it was going to be good at all, but I was resigned to find something despite the ashtray on every table, and the loud talking/sports on TV, the halter-top waitress her special greeting of "Whaddaya wanna drink?" I was just about ready to bolt. We had brought our books, and I just told myself it's not about the food or
the service but just relaxing and reading a few pages and enjoying the company of my girlfriend.

I examined the menu and it really didn't look too bad. The steaks were too expensive for a bar, but everything else looked a little pricey but ok. I got something cheap--a hot brown, and also onion rings to share with Theresia. It came with a side of soup. Theresia got smothered chicken and a side salad. Well the food got there, and--WOW! The soup was chicken pot pie soup and it was killer! Likewise, T's salad--which was a hell of a salad (it had a lot of optional veggies, not just tomatoes: banana peppers, carrots, green onion, green pepper, mushrooms) and it was fresher than entrée salads I've seen at EXPENSIVE restaurants! Next was the hot brown and onion rings. The onion rings were greasy--to be expected, and crunchy. They were good onion rings. The hot brown was ok, but the only problem I had was the gravy was so thick it was more like mashed potatoes in consistency. But the flavor was very good. Theresia's smothered chicken was nothing to sneeze at. We both realized that after eating turkey and then leftovers, we'd both gotten poultry AGAIN--AND I EVEN GOT TURKEY!!! We were not disappointed though. It was very good and we'll be back.

We went back home, watched some TV, then went to bed.

Long Weekend Thursday

Here's the quick and dirty on my Thanksgiving extendo-weekend. Wednesday, the kids were off school. I had to arrange daycare for them at $20 per kid. Originally when the divorce was final, I had thought that since I got custody of the kids, I could count on Shellie wanting to spend as much time with them as possible, so I *cringe* assumed that she would keep them all day and do something with them if they were off school, and it was her regular day (i.e. Tuesday or Wednesday). Man, am I a dumb@ss for assuming THAT. Her basic answer was "No, I need my sleep." So...

They went to Thomas Jefferson Middle School again, with the YMCA before/after school program. The rate was $20 per child. Brutal, but I had no choice. Well, they had fun anyway, and at least they didn't sit inside in front of a TV all day, so I don't feel too bad about that.
Every time I call when they are with their mother and ask "What are you doing?" (cheerfully) They always reply "Watching TV..." That was Wednesday.

Thursday I got up at 4am and put the turkey on. I was spazzing out about it because it still seemed frozen when I stuck my hand in to get the package of guts and the neck. But it was only just some left-over ice from inside and all the meat was ok. You could tell by pressing on
it and feeling that it was loose and thawed. Just to make sure, I put it in cold water for an hour. All Thursday from 5am until 1pm I was cooking and finishing up cleaning. The kids were a great help tidying up. They really saved me...except for their ROOM!

I didn't get the giblet gravy done, so I added garlic to the potatoes and called them garlic smashed potatoes. I used an oven bag on the turkey and it didn't look browned so I took off the bag and put it under the broiler for a little too long and burned it. Just surface...all the meat was fine and tasted really good. Everybody said so. My $5 electric knife I bought four months ago at Goodwill was awesome for the bread and of course the turkey too! I made sour dough and country white breads using the bread maker. I think mom would have been proud of me. The casserole, the stuffing, bread, corn spoon bread, turkey--all of it was really ok. Nobody left hungry. After everyone left, I was exhausted. Patti helped me put stuff away except the turkey (because it was in the roaster pan). I just left the turkey out for a little bit and rested. I was really exhausted. We ate left-over's for supper. After that, I de-boned the turkey. The fridge was so full you could not see the lights in the top.

Logan's Turkey

Logan made this turkey in art class. I'm going to hang it up in my cubicle at work!

Lexie's Kangaroo

Lexie made this kangaroo in art class.

Shizue and the cool stamps

Theresia stopped in at work to see me yesterday and brought me a present! She was at the post office and said when she saw this sheet of stamps she just HAD to get it for me. These are the coolest stamps I have ever seen and she is so thoughtful for getting them for me!!!

(Logan is the one holding the stamps)

Don's Funeral

My brother Don passed away last week. I went to the viewing this past Sunday. My brother Mike and I rode up together for it. Monday was the actual funeral. My sister Patti and brother Mike stayed for that but I didn't have anybody to watch the kids over night and get them to school the next day so I couldn't go. They both told me how nice the funeral was. Don was on the police department for 15 years and in the military before that. They did the whole works with the 21 gun salute. Plus all the police officers saluted, they gave his kids the flags, and Mike said the dispatcher called over the police radio "Last call for officer [and then his badge number]"

Logan's 12 week Report Card

Logan did AWESOME! He got all Outstandings, and some Satisfactorys! I am so proud of him!!!

Lexie's 12 week Report Card

Lexie got all Satisfactory marks, except for one Needs Improvement. She says she "lost" a couple papers of class work (in class assignments). She said she'll be more careful next time.

Insomnia and Bad Dream

I woke up at about 3am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I popped in a movie called "The Sentinel". It was not bad. About 5am I went back to sleep, but before I could drift off, the door opened and Lexie came in to snuggle with me. She tossed and turned for about 15 minutes then asked if she could get up and watch cartoons. What could I say? The same thing happened to me a couple hours earlier, so I understood. I said "Yeah, just don't wake up little brother." I suspect she was excited about no school today and going on her field trip.

I had this really bad dream early this morning after that. I dreamed that mom had just passed away, and that Mike, Patti, Bonnie and I were with Jack and everyone was so sad and upset. I woke up sobbing into my pillow and it was a few minutes before I woke totally up and realized it
was just a dream. This has only happened to me like twice before. Its worse than a nightmare because nightmares are so unreal It just makes me realize how much I miss my mom.

Habitrail

This is what I want to get the kids for Christmas if I have the money. I had a gerbil when I was a kid. My 4th grade teacher had a couple as "class pets" and they had babies. Then at the end of the year, some students got to take one home. I didn't get a lot of choice on pets when I was a kid, so mom got me a Habitrail cage to keep it in and let me have it. I had Zach for a couple years in one of the original Habitrail cages. What I would like to do is get Lexie and Logan their own hamster or gerbil, then each their own cage and some connector tubing so the little rodents could visit each other. What do you think?

Bad Dreams

I woke up at about 3am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I popped in a movie called "The Sentinel". It was not bad. About 5am I went back to sleep, but before I could drift off, the door opened and Lexie came in to snuggle with me. She tossed and turned for about 15 minutes then asked if she could get up and watch cartoons. What could I say? The same thing happened to me a couple hours earlier, so I understood. I said "Yeah, just don't wake up little brother." I suspect she was excited about no school today and going on her field trip.

I had this really bad dream early this morning after that. I dreamed that mom had just passed away, and that Mike, Patti, Bonnie and I were with Jack and everyone was so sad and upset. I woke up sobbing into my pillow and it was a few minutes before I woke totally up and realized it was just a dream. This has only happened to me like twice before. Its worse than a nightmare because nightmares are so unreal It just makes me realize how much I miss my mom.

"Sorry..."

Sunday morning due to a communication problem between Shellie and I, she got the kids. So I had them saturday only until about 6pm, then Sunday at about 8pm. This coming weekend she will have them too. It's like I didn't even get any time with them. Oh well, I still get them the majority of the time. I guess she can have a little extra visitation if she wants it. I just miss them when they're not around. I catch up on housework, watch TV, and goof around on the computer.

The thing that really killed me was this: she sent me a message last night saying "..may be a few minutes late. Sorry". She says sorry, but doesn't mean it. She said she was trying to be nice "for the kids" which made me even angrier. I let her have Lexie so she could go to Kings Island. I let her MOTHER have Logan on the same day, when I REALLY wanted to do something just he and I. I let her have them for trick or treating later than usual, even though it was a school night. I ask her to trade days...told her months ahead about the weekend I would need. So she gives me the kids last Sunday. I need her to watch them Saturday night, but she says she has something going on with a friend. She has ALWAYS put friends before the kids. She always put friend before me too, which I could care less about. So then when I ask her to take them Saturday night instead of Sunday, she gets up and nails herself to a cross throwing a huge little princess fit because she's not getting her way. THEN she has the NERVE to THREATEN me and the kids. She THINKS she is just threatening ME but it's the kids too! She gets them from school on Tuesday and Wednesday and I know when she say "she will have to re-think some things" that is what she is talking about. Hell, the kids and I don't NEED her for anything else, so that's all it could be.

Well, since the kids still aren't getting any child support from her, then money is tight enough that she might really be able to hurt us this way. They are already going on too few clothes and not getting school pictures this year. I DID take them camping, but they have so much fun doing that and I'm still pretty sure that they watch a lot of TV and sit in the house a lot over there, so I feel the need to get them outside whenever possible. So aside from a few things like camping (rarely done) we are strapped down. I shop at all the discount grocery stores (Aldi's, Valu-Market, and Sav-A-Lot), I get clothes from thrift stores when I can, I have put off going to dentist and doctor for myself--three appointments I cancelled (and also I need to get Lexie in to see the doctor about a wart on her foot), I am pushing back an oil change in my car, we have not been out to eat--not even McDonald's--in months. Anything I need that isn't groceries comes from Dollar Tree (where everything's $1.00) or I do without.

I think the kids deserve better than this and it makes me mad. So when she comes off and says "Sorry..." well, I'm not proud of it, but I told her she could shove "sorry". It's EASY to say "sorry" when you're the one who is winning and you are making the other people kiss your ass. It's EASY to say "sorry" when you don't have to worry about a place to live, food to eat, and a car to drive. It's EASY to say "sorry" when there's no meaning behind it, and you don't care who gets hurt. I am beyond personal hurt from her. She can still make me angry. I just hate it when the kids have to suffer because of her immaturity.

Committment Ceremony

Saturday night, I went to a commitment ceremony at the Intermezzo Café outside Actor’s Theater downtown. It was a very tasteful and elegant event. A couple my girlfriend knows (and really I know them too now because we've been together so long that our friends know us as a couple) were committing their lives to each other. It really was a nice ceremony. There were drinks and appetizers served by waiters and waitresses walking around, plus and open bar, then the ceremony and afterwards dinner. After dinner there was dancing back in the room that the ceremony was held in--it had been converted to include a dance floor. We stayed until after midnight then went and picked up the kids.

Screwed again

So check this out. This is what ALWAYS happens to me. I asked a month ago if Shellie would want to watch the kids because I have something going on this weekend. She said yes, that she would trade me days. Either I didn't tell her which day and she assumed it was Sunday, or I mistakenly told her Sunday and it was saturday-- anyway that's not the point. So last weekend, I got the kids early on Sunday at 7am. She ASKED me if I wanted to get the Saturday night or early Sunday, and so I told her Saturday night. Then my plans changed and I ASKED her if I could get them Sunday morning. She said OK, but it would have to be at 7am. I told her that's ok, because we wanted to go to church anyway.

Now this weekend rolls around and she said "What time do you want me to get the kids sunday morning?" and I asked her then could it be Saturday night. You know, I was thinking I would get at least the amount of flexibility that I give out. No way. She says I have plans Saturday night. She is helping a friend make a video tape for school. So I get a little upset. "I tell her since she can't take the day I need, and it's my regular weekend, don't worry about it." Also I'm thinking I will want to see them Sunday since I will have to be finding a sitter and not get to spend time with them Saturday night. She freaks out and says she has plans now for Sunday night with them. She's calling me, leaving nasty messages on my phone (I don't answer because I'm at work). She sends hateful text messages... She even threatens me. She says "I got some things to think about too, because we've agreed to some things and if you're not going to hold up your end of the bargain, then I don't guess I need to uphold my end of the bargain on a few things." She says it was not a threat, but I know it is. So, like always, I gave in to her. Now she is saying because I made her mad, she will punish me by never changing our schedule again.

The problem is it states clearly in the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines that I HAVE to give her first choice when I'm going to get a sitter. I told her that if she is going to waive that right, then I want it in writing because I am NOT going to break the law. When I get that, at least I can get a sitter without going to her first. She always acts like she's doing the ultimate favor and making the world's greatest sacrifice when she switches or trades with me. I'm sick of it. It's like making a deal with Satan for your soul every time--and she twists the deal around to her favor and takes things by the letter rather than the spirit, and does whatever she can to punish me, make things difficult for me, and hurt me. She doesn't care that it hurts the kids. And if by some chance things don't work out good enough in her favor? Then she's been nailed to a cross and you're the big *ssh*le! You should hear her voice on the message. You can here the tone--it's like a kid throwing a fit to get what they want. I'm going to try and find a way to post it as a wav file... She's been spoiled all her life and gotten everything she wanted from parents, friends, family, and me. She knows nothing else.