Father's Day

We went over Sunday after church. We also got him a shirt and some of the portraits we got done at Wal-Mart Photo Studio. It was combination Birthday/Father's Day.















They gave out carnations to all the dads at church and they had extras. The kids each got one and they saved one for Pawpaw and one for Granny Dana.

Pawpaw's Birthday

We went to see Joe for his birthday. The kids made him a coffee mug at The Paint Spot on Shelbyville Road. It's a place where you can paint pottery and then they glaze and fire it. It is a really nice keepsake thing.

Lucky guy...

I saw some lucky guy driving this the other day on the way to work. I fully expected a bunch of gals to jump out at the red light and come over to my car with hot wings, but...

Oh well. The kids and I love Hooters. They even holler out "We love Hooters!!!!" when we go there. We are impressed with the food and the service.

Louisville Irish Fest

The kids and I went to Louisville Irish Fest. It was fun. We went with Theresia and Rachael, and Rachael's cousins Libby, and Kendall. The Louisville Pipe (bagpipe) Band played, there was dancing, dog breeds and herding demonstrations as well as all kinds of celtic and irish food and drink. They got a little sunburned, but we had a good time!

Dr. Donovan

I got a call from Dr. Donovan, Lexie and Logan's physician. I told him that they were having the usual respiratory problems. Their mother had taken them off their medication for a week and it got a lot worse. She left them off another week and things did not improve. Logan sounded sick this morning so I gave him some Benadryl chewable tablets.

The doctor said that cigarette smoke, although some people are allergic to it, it mainly affects most people like an irritant. He gave me the example "like gasoline fumes". He said it can cause the symptoms that they have--fluid in the ears, sinus congestion and asthma. He said they are old enough we might want to send them to an allergist to find out if they are allergic to it, or it's just affecting them as an irritant.

As for their weight, he said that they are both tall, but "weigh more than you'd expect for their height." Ten to fifteen pounds gain a year is ok. He said we might want to see an endocrinologist or dietician so we can have the same health routine at both homes.

I'm concerned about the kids, but I also wanted to get some fuel to fight Shellie with at the divorce hearing if I need it. I don't want to do anything bad to her or hurt her, but I worry about losing the kids completely.

Church

The kids and I went to Church Sunday. We went to Fern Creek Baptist
Church. Three of the ladies from the church came over last night and
brought us bean soup mix, information, and invited us back this coming
Sunday. They talked to the kids and I for about twenty minutes then we
had prayer. The kids enjoyed talking to them. They are looking forward
to Sunday school this coming week. Last week I had them for regular
services with me. The ladies from the church said they could stay
together in the same room. They have a day care at this Church too, as
well as lots of community activities...bible study, fellowship,
children's choir, suppers, the whole works. It sounds like it will be
good for us. It's been hard to find a church I feel comfortable in and
the kids like.

Logan's Self Sculpture

The kids and I went to Cici's Pizza with Pawpaw and Dana. They have macaroni and cheese pizza!! Logan made a self sculpture from his salad! He is a very talented kid with and awesome imagination.

Entertainment

I’m going to cut back on my entertainment budget. I think I’m going to get rid of cable. I don’t know if anybody will notice. I think we watch it like 1 hour a week at max. I’m cutting back Netflix. I’m going to get rid of it soon too. I think I like blockbuster’s online program a lot better.

I might get satellite instead of cable. I can do that for like $25, and get a lot more channels. That would save me almost $20 per month. I’m going to quit cold turkey for a while and see if I even notice.

Stuff

Man, I was worn down last night. I got the kids showers, and crawled into bed. They slept with me last night and we read two chapters in the goosebumps book. That damn thing is getting on my nerves. It keeps stringing you along. Logan has the croupy sound this morning. I have a sore throat and sinus drainage. I hate when one of the kids has that “barking” like cough. It makes me feel so sorry for them. When he talks he sounds froggy. *sighs*

We had fun fishing yesterday. I had to pull a tick off of Logan’s back. I checked them both thoroughly and then we got showers. Lexie has one small itchy spot that she says is poison ivy, but hell, with all the hiking we did and tall weeds and mud and water…I think we got off easy! I got sunburned on my face and arms but the kids seemed fine. Logan got a little bit of sun on his cheeks. Today after work is housework day. Dishes, put laundry away, clean, pickup, etc…

Fishin'

I got the kids out to Long Run park. They have a lake about 2-3 times the size of community park in New Albany. We fished and hiked and played, picnicked and had loads of fun!!!! We walked around it’s entirety, me carrying a med sized cooler, three chairs. Lexie and Logan both got hooked in the hand and screamed like they were dying. Logan got a tick. Lexie got scratches on her legs. She complained this morning of poison ivy, but all it all they want to go again because they had SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Water-iron

Have you even water-ironed a shirt before??? I did that this morning to my collar and it works good! I wetted the collar and smoothed it out with my fingers, then it dried flat and neat!!! I guess that’s one good thing about driving all the way over to IN and back…time to dry things.

Camping

We took the Frozen Niagra tour. It was 330 steps down into the caves on the third level. The kids had no problem keeping up the 3 hours we were walking, but I was sore that night and still am.

Caterpillars

The kids loved playing with the caterpillars this weekend. There were tons of them. The attendant was nice enough to put me next to the bathrooms. They were clean with flush toilets! Also there was water right by us. The coin-op showers were ok too!

Camping at Mammoth Cave National Park

This past weekend, we camped Friday and Saturday night at Mammoth Cave National Park. The kids had a great time. Here's a few pictures. It's late tonight and I'll write more later...

Here's us at Frozen Niagra Falls
The kids at Dinosaur World at Cave City, KY.

Field Trip with Lexie

Yesterday I took a half-day off work and went on a field trip with Lexie and her class. They went to the Falls of the Ohio Center. It was very good. There were work sheets and I was in charge of Lexie and 3 other little girls. They all listened pretty good and looked at what they were supposed to look at and behaved as well as 2^nd graders behave.

She said she had a good time. After we got back to school, they went directly to lunch. Since I had to eat before I went back, I decided to eat with Lex. School lunch is the same as I remembered it. There was turkey with gravy (which to say was hunks of white and dark meat turkey in some odd clear sauce—you could tell it was from a can), with mashed potatoes (instant) tasteless green beans. The eubiquitious milk was there, along with a piece of fruit. Square as hell, and completely flavorless. They didn’t even offer salt or pepper. That’s ok though. It teaches kids that it’s not what food tastes like that is important, but more that you should eat a balanced meal that is healthy for you. There also was the optional meal: a PB&J crustless sandwich with a little slice of cheese on the side instead of the canned entrée. I gave Lexie fifty cents because she wasn’t digging the turkey stuff. She got a little bag of trail mix (with peanuts—got the protein she skipped) and a little snack-cake. She wanted to take the snack-cake home for little brother. We promised him we would pick up something little for him at the gift shop, but we didn’t have time. She is so thoughful toward her brother. I can see the love almost like something tangible. Same with Logan of course.

^%&*#$@ Clothes--AGAIN

Clothes has continually been an issue between Shellie's mother and I. I sent back to them every shred of clothing that the kids have from their place, with the exception of one pair of Logan’s underwear. Lexie wore the same bra Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and would have today, but she said she didn’t want to wear it again and would put one on when she got to your place.

I asked Shellie to please send any clothes that I’ve gotten for the kids. Especially, the 4 bras I just recently bought, and Logan’s sweat pants he got from me for Christmas. I asked her that if she saw anything else that is theirs from me, please send it too. (She was supposed to do this last Wednesday when I came to get the dresser.) I can’t let Lexie keep wearing the same bra over and over again. I don’t have a washer and dryer, and I only go to the laundry once a week. That was last night, and I gathered all of the clothes and sorted them. That’s how I know she has everything.

Its so frustrating that I have no underpants for Logan. I have no bras or panties or socks for Lexie. I will start over again and buy them all new stuff. I will do this because Shellie's mother Bobbie is riding Lexie’s ass about their clothes. She SHOULD NOT be saying anything to Lexie. I told Shellie that she could always send them over with no extra clothes and I would send them back in the same clothes. I don’t like sending them back in clothes they have already worn, but if this keeps her mother off Lexie’s back, I would be happy to do this. I told her I want to get this straightened out so that the kids have enough clothes both places and especially to get her mother OFF LEXIE’S BACK. Lexie was seriously stressed out this morning. I told her to change into a bra that came from mommy's so she could leave the one I have for her here. She said there were no other bras. And she told me that grandma said she needs to bring all her bras back over!!! She said grandma will get mad if she doesn’t wear a bra, or if she doesn’t bring a bunch back. I told her to wear that same bra back over to grandmas house and I would buy some more. When we left, I saw that she had took that one pink bra that I bought for her—the only bra at my house—and hid it under a chair so that she would have one here. That is SHAMEFUL that she should be made to feel like this! I am so upset with Bobbie I can’t stand it!

I told Shellie I don’t want her involved in the kid’s lives like this!!! If she is doing this to “get back at me” or make me feel bad or “punish” me, then she needs to take it up with Shellie and leave our kids the hell out of it! I am doing the best I can. Her mother is just bitter because I refused to support our kids at my place AND hers. She needs to shut her mouth! If she financially regrets letting Shellie move in with her, she needs to take it up with her, and leave the kids out of it!!!

I told Shellie I was bringing this up with her because she is their mother. I’m not going to communicate with Bobbie. She has proven to have no respect for me and I will not listen to anything she has to say. I will not talk to the kids about it because they don’t need to be worried about this kind of crap.

Birthday Party

Lexie's birthday party turned out really good. She loved all her gifts,
and really enjoyed playing with all the kids who came. She did say that
she liked Logan's party at Puzzle's Fun Dome too. Logan said that he
liked her party better. There were several of her classmates (Bethany,
Cami, Jeffery and Gannon) who were able to make it, plus her cousins
Timmy and Nichole. We invited my girlfriend's nieces too, and Lexie was
happy to see them. They are older than her, but she relates well to
kids younger and older just as well. Theresia's daughters Rachael and
Theresia were there, and her granddaughter Kendall even got in the pool
with her mother for a little bit! Everybody had a good time playing in
the pool. The lifeguards were in full force with that many kids in the
pool. I was very impressed with how they handled everything. They were
all standing at the side of the pool watching and paying close attention
to the kids.

I got Lexie an MP3 player which I pre-loaded with her favorite tunes,
and we played it over her new boom box. She asked to take it to school
and listen to it on the bus and I told her it was ok. She said that
other kids bring their CD players on the bus to listen to them so I
figured it would be ok. I told her that I got her the MP3 player to
take back and forth between her grandmother's house and my place. She
really enjoys music, and I want her to have her own music wherever she
goes. She got clothes and toys too.

I made a cupcake tree with over 40 cupcakes. There was chocolate,
vanilla, and strawberry icing with sprinkles. We also had ice cream
(which I forgot and Joe and Dana went out to get for us-THANK YOU!!!).
The kids played in the pool from about 3:30 until almost 7. I got them
back to the apartment, and we had some Tombstone pizza and went to bed.
We were all exhausted.

I couldn't have done it without my awesome girlfriend Theresia's help.
She is fantastic at going around chatting, making sure everybody is
having a good time, organizing, taking pictures, setting up, making
preparations, going out to get stuff that was forgotten, de-stressing
me, and cleaning up-really the very best!!!

RSVP's

This is soooo cool! So far, I have 3 RSVP's from Lexie's class for her
party! Bethany, Gannon, and Jeffrey!!! Plus Rachael will be there, and
most likely her cousins Timmy and Nichole. That's 8 kids total
including Lexie and Logan!

We are going to have so much fun!

Movies & Thunder & Birthday Party!

Last night was movie night with my girlfriend. I came home after work
and took a short nap because I was just feeling completely worn out.
She came over about 9pm, and we finished watching "The Exorcist". We
had started it but never got through it all. After that, we put in this
movie called "Ring Around the Rosie". It was creepy and freaky, but not
that great.

This weekend is Thunder Over Louisville. It's the air show and
fireworks display that kicks off the Kentucky Derby celebration. I am
not really planning anything, but might get together with Theresia and
her people. I know I have a lot of preparation to do tomorrow for
Lexie's birthday party on Sunday. I'm renting out the Varsity Club at
our apartment complex. It has indoor pool and she's having a pool
party! She handed out invitations at school, and we've had a couple
calls about people wanting to come. I hope it is a good party and she
has fun.

Low Energy & Free Bread

I have been having problems with low energy lately.  I get tires at times throughout the day—not physically worn out, just sleepy. Mornings are difficult and I can’t seem to stay up late unless I’m actively doing something.  I’m going to check with my doctor and see what she thinks.  Until then, I guess it’s more coffee!!!

 

Yesterday here at work, there was this fellow who stocks our snack machines.  He had a whole delivery truck of about-to-expire bread stuff.  Everybody was told to grab a bag or two.  As long as you keep it in the freezer it should last for several days past the “sell-by” date.  I got bread, bagels, and doughnuts.