Family projects

As you know the girls and I moved mid-October. In case you do not already know, it is the perfect house for us! All three of us love it. I have only found 3 things wrong with the house.

1. It's on a dirt road. Which means my car is forever dirty and I have to dust a lot. No biggie.

2. I get horrible reception inside my house. I could be sitting on my couch talking away and all of a sudden I'll lose a call. Or if I move just a little bit, it'll get super static-y. A little irritating but again, no biggie.

3. The mirrors in my kitchen.

It doesn't matter where Alexis sits, she can see herself eating. Well, actually there are two places she can sit at the table and not see herself, but she doesn't like either of them. This past weekend I finally came up with something we could do so Alexis could sit where she wants and not watch herself! I know it's nothing compared to how creative some of you are, but for me this was a brilliant plan.

This is what the counter looked like before. Imagine Alexis sitting on the far side watching herself constantly.

To keep Alexis from looking at herself I propped two of the Girl Scout sacks and a Girl Scout envelope I had up against the mirror. It always looked messy and cluttered. That almost irritated me more than Alexis staring at herself.

Last week I ordered something online and it came in this great big box. Inside of the box was a bunch of brown paper. It kind of looks like butcher paper but not as heavy duty. I was about to throw it away when I had a great idea! I measured out a piece of the paper and let the kids draw on it.

When they were done I taped it up on the wall to cover the mirrors!

Anoe drew a Christmas tree on the left hand side (can't really see it, but it's there) and Alexis drew a wreath on the right hand side. I no longer have a mess on my counter, Alexis can't watch herself, and my wall is covered in wonderful art!! How much better does it get?

Being sick part 2

I feel so much better! Tuesday was bad again, my boss even sent me home earlier. That was two days in a row he had to stay until closing. He does not prefer being at work past 4:00, but he stayed so I could go home. He's such an awesome boss. Today I feel great! I really think something good is going to happen today. I look super cute, my hair is awesome, make up is good. Something good is happening today! I just know it. And I'm back on track with my weight loss!

Being sick

Can I just say that I do not prefer being sick? OK, I hate being sick. And hate is such a strong word! But I do!!!!! Thankfully I'm actually starting to feel better now. It was a little rocky Monday night, but I'm doing much better this morning.

Holding Out

It's been almost a month since my last post. So much has been going on, yet so little has been going on. I've been dealing with a bunch of emotional garbage lately. None of which I can post about. But, let me say that Brandi is amazing! I've been talking to her about everything and she is just absolutely amazing!! Beyond words amazing.

A couple of months ago my sister-in-law told me how much she was into the Twilight series and she really wanted the books. She only had the first book at the time. I belong to an online book club, so I thought it would be perfect for me to buy the last three books for her. Jennifer saw that I had Twilight and asked if she could read it. I didn't care. I was so not about to read it, and it was just sitting there. I accidentally ordered all four books instead of just the last three. Anyways, after she read it, she said that I had to read it too. She said I would totally be into them. She took the second book New Moon, and I started Twilight. Let me just say this now, I AM ADDICTED. That's all there is to it. I read all four books in two weeks. I'm a pretty slow reader, it usually takes me at least a week sometimes two to finish just one book! I've even started the series all over again. I read them so fast the first time around I think I missed a few things here and there. On November 21st, Twilight opened in theatres!!! I was so excited. I bought my tickets early Monday morning. I went with two friends and Jennifer & Tony. We got there about 6:15 for the 7:00 showing and there was a super long line. They were sold out for the entire weekend. My friend Laura asked the people at the front of the line what time they had gotten there and they said they got there at 5:00. Wow, they were hardcore! Alexis and I went to watch it again the day after Thanksgiving. Alexis is reading Twilight now. Anoe really likes it too. I've been reading them to her out loud. She actually lays down and listens the entire time I'm reading out loud to her. Which if you know my Anoe, that is amazing!

I had a really good Thanksgiving! I went with Cherry to her sister-in-laws house for a little while then I headed out to my Mom's in Sweetwater.

I still love my new house. I love being at home. I think of reasons not to go places just so I can stay home!

Cheerleading

Last week Alexis started practicing for the Exhibition this coming up Sunday with her Cheerleader Squad. She's been so excited about it. Sunday morning on our way to church one of the other Mom's called and was discussing the song the girls were going to dance/cheer to. It's "When I Grow Up" by the Pussycat Dolls. The other Mom (who I'll call "M" from here on out) said the chorus went as following:
When I grow up
I wanna be famous
I wanna be a star..........
I wanna have boobies

I totally do not want my child dancing or cheering that! I was really upset when she told me. I know my kids are exposed to a lot of stuff at school that I do not find appropriate. Believe me, I know this. But I did not pay all this money for her to dance/cheer to something like this! I want her to aspire to be somebody important, not have a good figure! There's already enough pressure on girls to look good. So, I talked to Alexis about the whole thing. I asked her if it was more important to her for her to participate in the Exhibition or for her to live a live honoring God. She agreed living a live honoring God was much more important. I told her that I was going to have to talk to Margo (her coach) on Tuesday and let her know that I would not allow Alexis to participate if that was the song they would perform to. Alexis wasn't ecstatic about that, but she agreed. (Like she had a choice really.) Monday at work I looked up the lyrics to the song so I could take them with me to talk to Margo on Tuesday. The song says "I wanna have GROUPIES" not boobies!!! "M" was mistaken. This made me feel a little better. Margo has agreed to "splice" that part out though.

I was really proud of Alexis for how she dealt with the whole thing. She really does enjoy cheerleading. And she's really good at it.

The Date part 2

Last night while the girls and I were watching the election coverage, Ely (blind date guy) called. We actually talked for quite awhile. He really is nice. He kept asking me questions about Jennifer's wedding and what not. He finally said he would be honored to attend the wedding with me. I didn't really know how to tell him that I already had a date for the wedding. I did tell him. I tried to do it as nicely as possible too. Here's the thing, with my current date for the wedding, I don't feel any pressure at all! We're friends. And I won't feel like I have to be around him all evening. He'll know other people there so I won't be the only person he knows. Really Taylor is more of an escort than a date. Except I'm not paying him. He's just doing me a favor. But Ely did say that he would call me next week again so we could still go out to dinner. I told him after this Sunday, my schedule would become a lot less hectic.

The Date

Cyndi requested an update on the date.


He hasn't called.


Therefore there has not been a date.


There that was fast. Jennifer says that I probably scared him, but I don't think so. I tried really hard to be nice to him. But whatever.

I'm going to my Mom's tomorrow to take the girls Trick or Treating, so knowing my Mom she'll invite him or someone else. Nothing compares to the feeling of knowing your Mom thinks you can't find your own date.

Voting

Early Voting is being held in my office this week and next. We have had such a good turn out! I'm registered to vote in Taylor County, but I moved to Callahan County after the "register to vote deadline", so I wasn't sure how or where I would be able to vote. As it turns out, I could vote in Taylor County still because I do still have stuff at my old address or I could vote here in Callahan County during early voting. But I could only vote on a "limited ballot". I could only vote on that pertained to both Taylor and Callahan Counties. Which is fine with me, I was really only worried about voting for the President. Anyways, at Life Group Brandi had said how she likes to wait until Election Day to vote. She likes all the excitement in the air and all. I prefer to go during Early Voting, I do not like long lines and big crowds of people. So, I was just wondering what everyone else prefers. Are you an Early Voter, or an Election Day voter?




For your reading enjoyment, I have included a conversation Anoe and I had the other when she was praying.

Anoe: Mom, who's the guy we want to win?

Me: What are you talking about? Just get done praying Anoe, we'll talk after you're done.

Anoe: No! The guy that we want to be Prisoner! (she can't say President very well)

Me: Oh, John McCain.

Anoe: Thanks. (back to praying) Lord please let The Cane win. I really like him. Thank you. Please let The Cane win! And the girl with him. My Mom likes her hair.

Dating

Monday before last (Oct. 13th) my Mom and her significant other (Symantha) met me in Abilene after my eye doctor appointment so we could get the rest of my stuff from my brothers garage and move it to my new house. We met about 1:00 pm and started moving everything right away. It was a nice cloudy cool day, but still moving stuff is hard work so I was getting a little hot. We loaded everything up in Symantha's truck and started on our way to Clyde. We unloaded everything and headed over to Jennifer's house so I could get my other couch that was in her living room/dining room taking up a lot of room she did not have to spare. By this time I'm really hot and sweaty! We got a bunch of stuff out of her storage building also. So now I'm hot, sweaty, and dirty! All of the stuff I hate!!! We unloaded everything and started putting everything together at my house. Symantha had been insistent that we go eat dinner at 5:00 in Abilene at Towne Crier. She said it was because she wanted to "beat the rush", I didn't care when we went. I was just hungry! Before going to Towne Crier we had to make a stop at United. So finally we're on our way to Towne Crier. We're sitting in the back dining area enjoying our salad when a guy that works with my Mom walks in. She says "Oh hi Ely, do you want to sit with us?" He's alone, I don't think anything of it. It's my Mom, she's weird.

On Monday nights at Towne Crier they have an all you can eat shrimp thing. So of course that's what I got. Well, there I am sitting next to some guy, not paying attention to him eating shrimp like it was nothing at all. I got a big ol' plate of boiled shrimp and was peeling the clear skin stuff and legs off. Totally unattractive like. OH! And don't forget that I'm still dirty and nasty from moving all day. My hair is up in a pony tail. I didn't even brush it before putting it up. It's just all matted looking. So when dinner is over, my Mom says she going to take the girls outside with her. Still nothing unusual going on. My Mom smokes and she always takes the kids outside with her when we go out to eat. Symantha says she has to go the bathroom, still nothing unusual. So it's just me and this guy at the table. I get up to leave, and say "It was nice to meet you", you know that polite I don't really care who you are thing. Well, as I'm leaving Symantha is coming out of the bathroom and motions for me to come in there. As soon as I walk in she says "You do realized we just blind dated you right?" I was like, No, with who? I didn't even pay attention to this guy! Symantha made me promise I wouldn't yell at my Mom. So we walk outside, and my Mom can tell right away that I know. She just starts acting all cute and trying to change the subject.

We still had to go to Bed Bath & Beyond to look for some cookware. My Mom and Symantha invited Ely (the blind date guy) to go with us. I was just like whatever. So while we're there, I see a bunch of candles and I go over to smell them. I love candles! And especially now that I live in a place that I can actually have candles, it's just great. So he comes over there and starts smelling them with me and tells me which ones he likes. It was a little awkward, but whatever. I wanted to go down to Ross to see if they had anything else that I would want instead of the stuff at Bed Bath & Beyond. On the walk down, I played a game with Anoe so I couldn't walk next to him. So he had to walk with my Mom & Symantha. While at Ross I never even saw him. I picked up an outfit for both of my girls for Jennifer's wedding but didn't find any cookware I wanted. Symantha went back down to Bed Bath & Beyond to get the other cookware I wanted. She said she would give the kids a ride over to my car (which was parked over by BB&B) so that Ely & I could walk back by ourselves. I swear he asked me like 5 different times about working in Clyde. "So you work in Clyde and just moved there?" which is fine to ask. But not 5 freakin' times in one conversation!!!!

Anyways, we say bye and it was nice to meet you again. A couple of days later Jennifer told me that my Mom told her that Ely said I was beautiful and asked for my number. My Mom of course gave it to him. Now remember when he met me, I was looking pretty bad! I had been moving all day. I was dusty, dirty, had matted hair up in a pony tail, and I'm sure I smelled pretty bad. I had been sweating most of the day. But for some crazy reason, he still thought I was beautiful and wanted my number. Maybe he needs better glasses.

This past Friday when I was at the Single Adults Conference he called, I told him I was at the conference and if he could call me back. He did call back Sunday while I was shopping with my friend Christy. He asked if he could take me out to dinner sometime. I said yes. I don't know how to nicely say no. Jennifer thinks I should go ahead and go out with him. You know to get practice. I haven't been on a date in almost 5 years. And let me tell you, those dates were not very good. But that's a story for another time. On the last date I went on 5 years ago, I was ready to call the police just because the guy wanted to hold my hand! I'll have to tell you this story sometime, but not today.

Why does my Mother feel the need to set me up with people? It makes me so angry!!! Really, I'm not that desperate yet. I still have 12 years before Anoe can even move out. If I'm still single in 12 years, then I'll entertain the idea of settling with someone I totally do not feel attracted to, until then why can't she just stop?!?!?!?!

update on the move

So as you know, I moved week before last. Every time I go home, I fall more and more in love with my new house! It's just great. I have almost everything unpacked and put up too. Really the only thing left is my room. I have a few clothes left at our old house in Abilene, but I'm planning on getting all of it this weekend. I cooked for the first time this past Sunday too. Well, I really just heated up a store bought pizza. But on Monday night I really cooked. Jennifer made spaghetti a couple of months back for my kids one night, but she didn't use regular old spaghetti noodles. She used penne pasta. My kids fell in LOVE with the stuff. So for our first official meal I made "Nennie Spaghetti". It's actually a little ridiculous how much Anoe loves the stuff. Whenever I ask her what she wants for dinner she always says "Nennie Spaghetti". I'm totally glad she likes something Jennifer made, but hello! I'm a really good cook too. Oh well, at least she's wanting something healthy instead of just junk food.

Alexis decorated our front porch the second day we were there. She did a really good job. She wasn't supposed to decorate until everything was unpacked though. But again, oh well.

The weather is getting so awesome! I love this cooler weather.

I have officially started counting down the days until Jennifer gets married. This has been a pretty hard journey for me. I've really struggled, but I am extremely happy that she is getting married to such a wonderful guy. Tony really is great for her and the kids. One of the best things in my life right now, is seeing Kalista and Xander run up to Tony to give him hugs! You can tell he's just as fond of them.

Brandi let me borrow a book "Wilderness Skills For Women" by Marian Jordan. It is such an awesome book! I really love it. I think the girls are going to get me this book for Christmas this year. It is just so good! I think every woman should read it, especially single ones.

This past weekend I went to a single adults conference at Pioneer Baptist Drive in Abilene. It was amazing! I really learned a lot and took a lot away from the conference. Dave Edwards is a really awesome speaker. He's funny and still gets the point across.

There you have it! An update in my crazy busy little life.

Moving

I found out this morning that I am for sure moving this Sunday! I'm so pumped I can hardly contain myself. I have so much to do! We're decorating a trailer for the Pecan Fest right after work. Well, I'm going to go decorate a float for Girl Scouts while Alexis is helping decorate a float for the cheerleaders. She won't even be on the float that I'm riding on. I'm going to try and get as much packed tonight as possible. Of course I'll be packing up a storm tomorrow after the parade until Alexis' game at 3:30. Then we'll go back to Abilene to pack as much more as possible. After church on Sunday, Cherry and Mike are going to come to my house so we can load everything up on their trailer and move me out here to beautiful Clyde! So needless to say this weekend is going to be pretty hectic! But it'll all be worth it.

Where does the time go?

Sometimes when I think about Alexis and Anoe, I still picture them as babies. Well not babies, but younger than what they really are. Especially since I know ALL of their quirks! It's hard for me to accept that Alexis is 11 and Anoe is 6! Then all of a sudden Alexis will show me that she really is getting older and more mature. For example: It's totally OK with Anoe if we hold hands while we're walking around at her school, Alexis on the other hand, might let me walk next to her. Depending on how many of her friends happen to be around at the moment. Don't get me wrong, they're both super kids, Alexis just doesn't think I'm as cool as I once was. Little does she know that I really am a cool Mom. Or at least I like to think I am. Anoe totally thinks I am too.

When I drop Anoe off at school, she always gives me a kiss and says I love you. I don't even have to bribe her to kiss me! When dropping off Alexis, she sometimes blows a kiss to me, not very often though. She does wave good-bye as she walks away from the car though. Oh, and when I say I love you, she says I love you too. Even when her friends are with us. That makes my heart happy.

Friday night (Homecoming) I dropped Alexis off at the football game with one of her friends. When she got out of the car, she automatically said I love you. Before I even said it. Her friend was super sweet and said, "Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Chavez" All I could think was that I'm old! Mrs. Chavez? I'm not even married. Poor girl, I think she was just trying to be sweet. Anyways, back to my baby. I called her twice to check in and make sure she was doing OK. Every time she sounded fine and said she was having the "best night of her life!" Secretly I kept hoping she would ask me to come up there to be with her. Maybe she didn't have anyone to talk to. That never happened though. The child has more friends than she needs! It's actually a little ridiculous how popular she is. She isn't one of those popular girls that is rude and hateful to the unpopular girls either. She's really sweet to everyone. I've met a lot of her friends, so I know she's not only friends with the "popular crowd". Which is awesome. That just shows that she a good girl.

This past Saturday when I was at the Pee Wee football game (only there to cheer on Alexis of course - but our team is pretty darn good!!) I received the picture posted below. I couldn't stop looking at it. At first I wasn't sure if it was really my child. My precious child that not too long ago still needed me to help her fix her hair, brush her teeth, wash her hair, and on occasion pick out her school clothes! I'm pretty sure it is the same child though. As sad as it is.






Don't tell Alexis I told you, but she let me help her straighten her hair for this picture! See, she does still need me!! Just don't let her know.

Anoe-ism part 2

The day before yesterday Anoe and I were walking down the hall to get something out of the kitchen before we left for school/work. She kept coughing/clearing her throat/sounding disgusting! Me being the comedian that I am, I asked her if she had been smoking. She just looked at me like I was a complete idiot. (I actually get this look a lot from Alexis) I said "You know, you keep coughing and clearing your throat. So you sound like a smoker in the mornings." Still with that same look, she said so matter-of-factly "No I don't smoke. Oma would kick me in my throat if I ever did. And I need my throat to talk!" Then she just walked off shaking her head. I told her I was just kidding, but she didn't get the joke.


*Disclaimer: My Mom is always saying she'll kick someone or something in their throat. She has never really done such a thing to either of my children.

Anniversary

I really should of blogged about this yesterday, but I was too excited about finding out that I am for sure moving soon! So anyways, yesterday was my two year anniversary at my work! My boss left town early Thursday morning, so we had to celebrate Wednesday. Instead of having a delicious chocolate cake, we had La Popular burritos. I'm sure they're just as fattening, but I didn't have to feel quite as guilty for eating one.

As with any new job, when I first started I was always so confused. It seemed like I was having to call the other JP Clerk constantly to ask questions. But now, two years later, I have a clerk calling me to ask questions! And so far, I've been able to answer all of questions correctly. That is so cool.

The Big News

OK, so in my last post I said I had some big news to tell everyone. Well, I found out today that I am for sure moving to Clyde within the next month! I'm super excited as well as scared. I'll be saving so much in gas it's ridiculous! And I'll be able to sleep in a little bit in the mornings too. The house is in a pretty good neighborhood, with lots of kids nearby that my kids already know from school. Actually, my assistant troop leader from Girl Scouts lives right behind the house I'm moving into. So that's really cool. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath and has a separate area for the laundry room. Well, it's connected to the kitchen, but it's separated at the same time. It's hard to explain, but it's super awesome. My lease starts on October 15th, but the landlord said I could move in as soon as he gets everything from the previous person all cleaned up. I talked to my brother about making me 2 bookcases to hold all my DVD's and he said he would do it. All I have to pay for is the actual material. Today on abilenefreecycle, a man that lives out in Sylvester (small town like 40 miles north of Abilene) was giving away an electric dryer. I talked to him and my mom is going out to Sylvester to get it for me tonight!

Everything is coming together so smoothly! It's almost crazy how smoothly everything is working out. I can't wait to cook my first meal in my new home!!! I'll post pictures of it as soon I I get the keys. Maybe if I'm really on top of my game, I'll post before and after photos.

Anoe-isms

Today after school Anoe and Kalista were at my office talking to me. Kalista told me that when she grows up she wants to move to India. I just kind of looked at her weird and said no way! She just giggled and said (all shy like) "I like elephants". So Anoe said that when she grows up she wants to be Mexican. I looked at her with an even crazier look, and said "You already are Mexican", so she said "No, I want to live somewhere Mexican." Shaking my head, I asked her if she meant she wanted to live in Mexico. She just shrugged her shoulders and said "yeah". This little girl is so funny sometimes. I really need to write down all the crazy stuff she does and blog about it more often.

Coming up soon is an update! A lot has happened since I last blogged. Mostly good! Well, actually all of it so good that I can think of. Hopefully I won't be so busy at work tomorrow and I'll have time to actually blog!! :)

Insurance

A couple of weeks ago I got a bill in the mail for the surgery I had back in June. The bill said I owed $898.68. At first I didn't know what to do, I thought my surgery was going to take care of it all. I called and spoke with someone with my insurance company and they said that part of the procedure was elective, so my insurance didn't cover it. I was like what? How could it be elective? It was part of the procedure. But I was like, OK. This will be OK, it'll all work out. I was of course really stressing out about it because I really can not afford another bill right now.

This Sunday I was blessed at church. I calling my doctor's office to see if they would allow me to make payments if I was able to pay a large portion up front. The nurse at Dr. Harrison's gave me the billing departments number so I could talk to them to see why my insurance didn't cover my procedure and to see about what payment arrangements could be set up. The lady I talked to was super nice. She took down my info and said she would call me back after she was able to pull my file and check into what my insurance allows and everything. I didn't hear back from her yesterday so I called her back this morning. She said that she had forgotten to call me back, but she did call the ladies in Oklahoma that are in charge of actually entering the money but they were having issues with their phones yesterday so she wasn't able to talk to them. She said she would call them again and call me right back. She called back about 10 minutes later and said the lady in Oklahoma was at lunch but she would call me after lunch to let me know what could be done.

I was really praying they would lower the amount to what I actually had, and let me settle for that. Well, she called me back this afternoon about 1:30 and said that I only owe $8.72!!!! I paid that while we were on the phone. So now I have a $0.00 balance! This was such a blessing for me!

Monday I was blessed with a really cool black table for when I move and kitchen stuff! I love it when God shows off! What Brandon said is true, it's impossible to out give God!

Fashion model

Last Friday I was a fashion model for Hendrick Home for Children! It was a blast! I wore a super cute outfit from Stein Mart with the most awesome purse ever! We had the oppurtunity of buying the outfit for 25% off if we wanted it. I did not buy the outfit. The skirt I wore was a little loose, and with me losing weight I didn't see the point in spending all that money on a skirt I could only wear for a little bit. But I did go and buy the purse Friday evening after Alexis and I were done shopping for her school clothes. I absolutely LOVE this purse. It just makes me feel more confident. I know that sounds weird or whatever, but it does make me feel more confident and pretty. I really wanted to take it with me to church yesterday but I didn't want it to get messed up with the rain. And I was lazy and I didn't switch everything over from my other purse. Actually to be honest, Anoe switched everything for me last night. She got to have my old purse and I was taking too long to empty it out.

This is actually my 100th post and I really was planning on posting some type of list of 100 things, but the purse is way better than any ol' silly list about a whole bunch of stuff about me.

I am for sure moving out to Clyde in January. A little scary but it'll be OK, I think. I've already started getting everything I'll need to furnish my new house. All I need to get now are a dresser for Alexis and myself, a kitchen table, and some kitchen supplies to cook with! I bought a couch and love seat earlier this summer, a bed for me earlier this year, a headboard for the bed I have now that Alexis will have when we move, and a twin size bed for Anoe! Anoe's bed came with a comforter and rug and curtain. They're all girlly, so I talked to my Mom and she's going to make Anoe a canopy for her new bed out of basketball material. Anoe loves anything to do with basketball, so she'll just love it! We're also going to make her a comforter out of basketball material. I'll probably just try to find some orange or black sheets to match the comforter. I'm totally pumped about Anoe having her own room when we move. The girls have always had to share, or Anoe sleeps in my room. I'm really hoping we're able to get a 3 bedroom house when we move so they don't have to share anymore!

If you happen to know of anyone that is getting rid of any dressers or kitchen stuff at a reasonable price, please let me know! I'm storing as much as I can in Jennifer storage unit for now. I just know it's going to be so expensive to move in January, the more I can get now the less I'll have to stress about then!

Checks in the mail!

Anoe's dad (Scott) has only paid child support 3 maybe 4 times since we went to court around the time that she was 6 months old or so. He tells me all the time that the Attorney General has taken money out of his paycheck so I should be receiving a check soon. I never ever hold my breath for the these checks. I have a better chance of winning the lottery (and I don't play the lottery!) than actually receiving a check from him. Well, last night when I was going through my mail I did receive a check from him! It's in the amount of $86.54! I'm super pumped about this. I'm going to use it to buy the girls some shoes before school starts.

I also received a bill from the Doctor yesterday for almost $800 from when I had surgery. My insurance was supposed to pay for my surgery, so please pray that the whole doctor bill works itself out! I'm really praying there was just a mess up somewhere. I paid my 10% before the surgery like I was supposed to. And the Doctor's office checked with my insurance company to make sure the procedure would be covered. I did get a statement from my insurance company showing they had paid a portion of it, but the statement said that I would not be responsible for the portion the insurance company did not pay.

Lots of stuff

I have a couple of different things I've been wanting to blog about. I've just been so busy at work lately. It's really weird, we haven't had very many tickets but on the Civil side I've been swamped! Anoe got an extremely cute hair cut. I of course still don't have any pictures because that's how I roll. Alexis got her nails done. They're kind of like a french manicure except the tips are green instead of white. I think I'm going to let her get them filled once before she has to take them off for schoo. This past Saturday Jennifer found a dress for Alexis to wear to her wedding that matches the colors of Jennifer's dress! The best part is that the dress was only $4.99!!! Alexis looks super cute in it too. I didn't even think to take a picture of her in it when she tried it on Sunday.

I joined Weight Watchers on July 8th. That first week I lost an eighth of a pound, but the next week I gained 1.6 pounds! I pretty much knew I gained that week before I even went in to weight though. I totally cheated that weekend and ate right before going to the WW meeting. But, yesterday when I went in I lost 4.6 pounds! That's just in one week! Eating all those Boca burgers and Special K are really paying off! I lost 4.6 pounds even with going to Olive Garden and the movies Friday night. At Olive Garden I had the Apricot Chicken. It was so good! And only cost me 7 points. And I only had 1 bread stick with my meal. Talk about self control. Christy and I went to see The Dark Knight. I had a junior size popcorn with no butter and water. The movie was so good. I usually do not like the whole Batman thing, but this one was different. I definitely want to go see it again! It was just so intense.

The church picnic on Sunday was pretty awesome. I made some potato salad for the picnic. A little secret about my potato salad - it was a weight watchers recipe! And it tasted pretty good. I'm actually having a lot of fun with Weight Watchers and all the different recipes.

Besides work, everything has been super boring in my life lately. Oh! I did buy some super cheap tickets to Hawaiian Falls in Mansfield.

My 4th of July celebrations

I know I'm a few days late, but I've been super busy lately at work and I don't usually blog from home because I try to spend that time with my kids. OK, so usually that means I'm cooking or cleaning up after my kids. But either way I just don't have the time to spend lots of time on the computer once I get home. Anyways! Back to my 4th of July.

Cherry invited the girls and me to go over to her sister-in-laws house with her to have a BBQ and let the kids swim. I made 3 Fourth of July cakes! I only took pictures of two of them though. The two that I did take pictures of were made with cherries for the red stripes! I've seen some cakes that use blueberries for the blue area and raspberries for the red stripes but I don't really prefer either of those fruits so I switched it up to fit my tastes. I took just regular white frosting and added food coloring to make it a nice shade of blue and then I put 50 white dots to represent the stars on the American flag. And there are 7 rows of cherries and 6 rows of white icing, which is also the way the American flag is set up. It took a little bit longer than I thought it would to decorate all 3 cakes but it was a lot of fun! The girls really enjoyed helping me make it too. On the third cake I used sliced strawberries for the red stripes. (That's the one I didn't take a picture of) I spread white icing on the entire cake first, then marked off where the blue icing was going to go, then I spread whip cream over the rest of the cake. It was super good! I took the strawberry cake with me to Jennifer's Friday evening.

Jennifer, her family and my family all went to watch the fireworks at Nelson Park. It was really good. After the fireworks were done, my brother called to see what we were doing and said the girls and I could come over if we wanted. A neighbor of theirs that lives across the street were having a party and they were watching them to see how long it took for the police to come. Alexis and I thought it would be a lot of fun, so we went over there. It was so much fun watching them. They were lighting fire works, which is illegal in the city limits, then at one point they were shooting some kind of firework at each other. They didn't really look old enough to be drinking, but they were.

I spent the rest of the weekend in Sweetwater working at my Mom's miniature golf course. All in all it was a great weekend though. This Saturday we're going to NRH2O again! Went twice last year and it was so much fun!

Post Surgery update

I had my surgery last Wednesday. Everything went really good. I was planning on returning to work on Friday, but that so didn't happen. I kind of sort of over did it Thursday when I was feeling good, so I paid dearly Thursday afternoon and Friday. But that's OK now.

Brandi offered to keep my kids for me Tuesday night because the original plan was for me to be at the hospital before 6:00 am. Well when I went to pre-register Tuesday afternoon I was told I didn't have to come in until 11:30! So I called Brandi and told her she didn't have to keep the girls after all. She was like, no that's not an option. Her kids were super excited about my kids coming over. My kids were super excited too. So we decided the girls could go ahead and stay the night with them after all and I would just pick them up in the morning to take them to the rec center before going to the hospital. Well, Tuesday evening after work Randy called and said they wanted to treat us to dinner. We all met at El Chico's inside the mall. Alexis was so excited that we were going to the mall. I am so anti-mall it is crazy! She only gets to go to the mall when she used to stay the night with her friend Shaq and one time when we went to get earrings from Claires. Anyways, after eating we walked around the mall for a little bit letting the kids choose different stores to go into. Brandi blessed me again with a room freshener thing from Bath & Body Works and a little pink rubber ducky! When all the mall excitement was done and we were leaving Anoe wanted to ride with Randy & Brandi and Joey and Jocie wanted to ride with me. We stopped at a little store that sells purses on our way out and bought a purse for my Mom that has a picture of The Wizard of Oz on it. When we got to Randy & Brandi's house I went to say good-bye to the kids and give them all kisses. Well Brandi walked out with me and told me that her and Randy had some money put aside because they wanted to help me with the cost of my surgery! I was so blessed the entire evening! Just spending time with Brandi is always fun, but then throw in all the other cool stuff we did at the mall, it was such a blast. I've even agreed to take the kids back to the mall one day soon.

Wednesday morning my Mom got to my house about 9:30. She worked the night before so she was going to take a nap while I took a shower and went to Wal-Mart. I needed to pick up a few things I thought I might need after the surgery and get my prescription for pain medicine filled. While I was in the shower the hospital called to see if I could come in early. Of course I said yes! So my poor Mom only got to sleep for about 30 minutes. She was super nice to me though. And didn't make me feel guilty at all! We got up there and they got my IV started and everything was going great. The anestiologist came in and was going to give me something to help me relax before they actually took me back. He was super nice! The last thing I remember is being wheeled into the OR and being told to think of sitting on the beach with the warm sun hitting my shoulders. (My favorite place to be) The next thing I know, I'm waking up in another room in a lot of pain! My abdomen was hurting so much and my legs felt like I had just had 50 charley horses! It was crazy. I tried asking the nurse why my legs hurt but I couldn't talk very well. I guess I finally got my point across because she came over and gave me some morphine and said my legs were sore because they had been up in the stir ups for so long. That made sense, I guess. I just wanted to make sure they didn't perform the wrong surgery and do something to my legs they weren't supposed to. Unless of course they wanted to perform some liposuction. I would totally be OK with that! OK anyways, lets stay focused here. A while later they took me back to the Pre Op area so I could be monitored or whatever. I had to eat some crackers before they would give me some more pain medicine. All I wanted was water but the nurse kept asking if I wanted some soda. I told her twice I didn't drink soda because I was on a diet and she said they had diet soda. I was like, dang! I don't prefer to drink carbonated drinks! I just want some flippin' water!!! (I didn't say the flippin' part of course. That would of been rude.) When I was finally able to leave I thought I was hungry so I asked if we could go get something to eat. Symantha went and picked up my kids and my mom took me to Albertson's to get my prescription filled. I told her I could walk and I would go in with her. She said no it's OK, well I tried to get out of the car but I fell asleep with my hand on the door handle! At the restaurant it took me forever to walk inside. My Mom kept having to remind me to open my eyes! How many people do you know that fall asleep walking? Yeah I'm a dork! I should of just listened and gone home to rest. Inside the restaurant (5 hours later--just kidding of course) My Mom fixed me a plate of food but I fell asleep again. I thought we had only been there for like 10-15 minutes when they said we were leaving but they said we had really been there for almost an hour. I kind of remember the ride home, but not really. I totally don't remember walking up to my room! Ms. Judy said she was there when they brought me in but I don't remember seeing her. After lots of fighting with my Mom, they finally decided to leave me there but take Anoe with them for the night. Ms. Judy promised she would help keep an eye on me.

That first night was pretty uneventful. Early Thursday I woke up and felt really good. Except for all the sore muscles of course and throat issue. So I thought I would go ahead and straighten up a little since there were a few things out of place. Well, I kind of over did it. I started hurting really bad and started throwing up. I think I got nauseous because I took one of my pain pills with out eating first. I learn the hard way I guess. At lunch time Cherry came and took Alexis and me to McDonald's then she took us to HEB to get some easy to fix stuff for the kids. I pretty much slept the rest of the day until Anoe got home. Even then all I did really was sit in the living room and make sure she didn't make any messes. My sister-in-law Katie came and picked up both girls so I could take a nap. Poor Anoe wanted to sleep with me that night to "take care" of me, but she just moves too much so she had to sleep by herself.

I went ahead and took Friday off of work since I wasn't feeling all that great like I thought I would be. I didn't really do anything except watch a lot of TV with the kids. My brother picked a pizza for the girls and me and we snuggled up and watched Camp Rock. I totally didn't like the movie but Alexis did. Saturday I was able to do some light housework and felt fine afterwards. Then Saturday afternoon I took the girls to the YMCA so they could swim for awhile. We got there about 2:00 and I was planning on letting them swim until 5:00 but I started cramping a bit and there was a super annoying lady there whose daughter was friends with Alexis when Alexis went to Taylor. It wasn't that she was annoying but she was so prejudice! So we went ahead and left about 30 minutes early. All in all we had a really fun day of just hanging out together.

Now I'm back at work and everything is going great! I'm of course counting down the days till I'm off next Friday for the Fourth of July though! Who doesn't enjoy time off of work?

Fun, Fun, Fun in the summer sun!

Our vacation was amazing! Now that we're back and settled back into everything I can say that. While we were actually there, I couldn't say that. I got hurt while swimming one day and a water bug touched my foot. Now I know you're probably thinking so what! It's just a water bug! You're at the beach, it'll be OK. And for most people it is OK. Except for the fact that I have an irrational fear of the bloomin' things! And why of all people did I have to be the one to find it and have it drop on my foot? I screamed as soon as I saw it! Jennifer (who was in the living room) knew as soon as I screamed what was going on. I don't know how she knew, but she did. So I went outside while Tony tried to find it and kill it. I came back in after a while and told Jennifer that I wanted to go home. This was only Wednesday morning. And we were supposed to be there until Sunday! As soon as I said it she looked at Tony and said "I told you". Jennifer did a great job of calming me down. Right when I thought everything was going to be OK, there goes another water bug running across the floor towards my room from the kitchen. I literally started crying this time. I'm not really sure why I'm so scared of water bugs, but I am. I just totally freeze up and start panicking. By the way I act you'd think some huge shark was about to attack my children or something. All this to say, I did make it through the rest of the week, but I did sleep in the living room on a very uncomfortable futon with a minimum of 2 children usually 3 with me the rest of the week. I don't really have any pictures of being at the beach. So instead I'm going to post some pictures of when we went to Galveston in May. I had to be down there Tuesday - Friday for a training seminar, so Jennifer and her kids came down for the weekend and Cherry and her family brought my kids with them on Thursday.

This is a picture I took of Alexis sitting in a gorillas lap at the Rainforest Cafe in Galveston. The restaurant was so cool! Every so often there was a "thunderstorm" that came through the rainforest and the gorillas and elephants came to life! The kids absolutely loved it!!!

This Lura and Anoe with the gorilla. Lura is Cherry's granddaughter.

This is Alexis in a "Space Car" at Johnson Space Center. We took the kids to NASA on Friday. It was so awesome!!!

Here is my Anoe in the Space car!

This is Anoe on the Sunday that we got back from the beach swimming at the pool at our house. Doesn't she just have the cutest smile ever?

This is Alexis swimming in the same pool as Anoe above. The only difference is that I took this one yesterday (Father's Day).

These next few are of the girls playing in the pool at my Mom's house this past weekend.

These are the only pictures I have right now of our time at the beach. You see those sheets in the background? Well those are the same sheets that the infamous water bug fell out of and onto my foot! I've washed them 3 times in super hot water. I still don't know if I'll be able to use them ever again though. I really like them too! :(

Ramblings...

This past weekend the girls and I went out to Sweetwater to work at my Mom's mini golf course because she had to work at her real job. It was super easy!! There was a group of 15 kids and two adults from a church down the street that come every Sunday night, but that was it! And we were there from 5:30 - 9:00! So needless to say I was pretty bored most of the time.

We had a Memorial Day cookout and swim party at my Mom's. We also did some major wedding planning stuff! It was a lot of fun. Jennifer and I are going to look at different dresses this Saturday. Then Jennifer and Tony are going to go look at tuxedos.

Tuesday was the kids last day of school. Tuesday morning I was a little upset about it all. Next year Anoe will be in 1st grade! That means she won't be a "baby" anymore! (And yes Erica I totally know I'm whining! Talk to me again in 7yrs when you have a child entering 1st grade.) When Alexis was in Kindergarten I went and had lunch with her, went to her party's, and was able to help out more in her class. I didn't get to go to any of Anoe's class stuff except her graduation of course. It makes me sad that I wasn't able to do more with Anoe.

Last year (2007) at the BFW God showed me Alexis reading a book under a tree. The book she was reading was at a 5th grade level and God told me that she was reading at the level she was supposed to be reading at. I want Alexis to be able to read at her level more than I want anything else! It's truly the desire of my heart! Well, Tuesday I picked the girls up a few minutes early from school because I got off of work early and Alexis gave me her TAKS test results. They were all marked that she's "at risk" of not being able to read on her level next year. Usually I get upset whenever I see these test results. But not this time. I just felt like it didn't really matter. Then that night and the next morning when I was praying, God reminded me about Alexis reading the book under a tree. And I was so happy! Next year Alexis is going to be in 5th grade! Next year is going to be the year that she catches up and shows everyone that she really can do it! I'm so pumped about this. Then to just reaffirm it all, Alexis brought home a certificate stating she made the Honor Roll for the 6th six weeks this year. I don't think she's ever made the honor roll before! I just can't wait to see all the God is going to do in her this coming year.

Oh and by the way, we're leaving Sunday to spend an entire week at the beach! Have I mentioned how much I love the beach?

Jennifer's wedding

I have a super HOT date for Jennifer's date!!!!!!!!!!

Susan King

Friday night I worked for Joel. It was at a really nice house on Sayles Blvd. The lady that actually lived in the house wasn't hosting the party, but she was super nice! Later in the evening when everyone put on their name tags, I found out that the lady was Susan King! The Susan King, as in our state representative! I LOVE Susan King! I voted for her. OK, so the reason I voted for her wasn't exactly politically correct, but still I voted for her. I believe I know that you're probably going to think that I'm shallow when I tell you why I voted for her, but you know what this is my blog so it's OK! Anyways, first of all, she wears lots of red! It's kind of her signature thing I think. And secondly, I heard her name the most, and thirdly, she's a woman. So yeah, that's why I voted for her. But now after meeting her, I really think she's even better. She was super nice!


And in case I haven't mentioned this yet, I'm leaving for Galveston Tuesday! (tomorrow) It won't be all play though :( I do have to be at school Wednesday afternoon, all day Thursday and Friday morning. But after that I'm totally spending ALL my time at the beach!

So, anyways I'm leaving tomorrow and won't be back until late Sunday! Please pray for safe traveling!

And Erica, I will so think of you the whole time! And bring you back a magnet!! :)

Graduation

Tonight at 7:00, my sweet beautiful Anoe will be graduating Kindergarten. Yesterday Anoe brought home the cap and gown she's supposed to wear tonight. She tried it on for me, and I almost started crying! I just can not believe my sweet baby is graduating Kindergarten already. Where has the time gone? It seems like she was just starting school a few weeks ago. The whole time I was ironing her gown last night I kept thinking about all the cool stuff she's brought home from school this year, and all the neat stuff she's learned. I'm almost positive I'm going to cry tonight when they call her name. If not before then. It almost feels like my heart is breaking, but in a good way. If that's even possible.

June 18, 2008

I went to see Dr. Harrison yesterday. He was super nice, as always! His nurse gave me pamplet to read and then when he came in he gave me another pamplet to read. The whole meeting took about 20 minutes! He said I could schedule the surgery at my convenience! So on June 18th at 7:30 in the morning I'll be in surgery! I'm so excited about this. I really think this is going to help me so much.

Consultation

Next Monday, May 5th, I have a consultation appointment with Dr. Harrison. I'm going in so we can discuss endometrial ablation. I would really like to have this procedure soon! Without going into ugly details, I just really need this. Please pray I will have favor with Dr. Harrison and he will agree that this is something that I need. Last time I went in he put me on birth control pills and it was horrible! I was so emotional! And they just didn't help.

Mason!

Right after my nephew was born I promised pictures. Have I put any on here? No, of course not. But today I am!

This is Mason and my brother Joey. Except everyone calls him Armando. He started going by Armando back in the 8th grade. I really don't think it's going to catch on though. I'm holding out for him to start going by Joey again.

Who doesn't love a sleeping baby?

Now I usually think Girls Rule!, but for this little guy boys rule for the day. And he has smurf paraphernalia! How cool is that? I love the smurfs! In fact I may try to find some smurf stuff on eBay!

This little smile just melts my heart! He looks just a little mischievous. He must get that from his dad, because his mom is just way to sweet to be mischievous!

This is Katie (the best sister-in-law ever!) and Mason. Look at him smile!

Drivers License

Pretty much everyone that reads my blog knows that I work for the Justice of the Peace. So we kind of have a little insight on some stuff. My boss sent me this email and I checked to see if it was true. It's really crazy what people can find on the Internet now! One of the sheriff's deputies sent this to the Judge.



I definitely removed mine. I suggest you all do the same. Now you can see any one's Driver's License on the Internet, including your own! I just searched for mine and there it was...picture and all!



Go to the web site, and check it out. It's unbelievable!!! Just enter your name, city and state to see if yours is on file. After your license comes on the screen, click the box marked 'Please Remove'. This will remove it from public viewing, but not from law enforcement. Please notify all your friends so they can protect themselves, too. Believe me they will thank you for it.



Online Drivers License

My baby isn't a baby anymore!

Alexis brought the following note home today:

April 2008

Dear Parent,

A film will be shown to all 4th grade girls on Monday, May 12. This film will provide your daughter with basic facts and reassurances about her growth and development. Topics that will be covered at school are female stages of development, female reproductive anatomy, the menstrual cycle, and personal care such as diet, exercise and hygiene. This film is designed to be a basic overview, with the puberty file in 5th grade expanding on the above topics.

Please sign the permission slip below and return it to your child's homeroom teacher as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call me at the school.

Sincerely,


Clare Nickel, RN
Clyde Intermediate School Nurse

***************************************************************
April 2008

My daughter, _______________________, has permission to view the 4th grade girls' film and participate in the class.

Parent/Guardian Signature _______________________








My Alexis is only 10 years old! This so can not be happening! Alexis and I had a little talk about it:

Me: Alexis do you want to go to watch this movie?
Alexis: What movie?
Me: The one this note is about.
Alexis: Oh, yeah sure of course.
Me: Do you know what it's about?
Alexis: My period.
Me: And what's a period?
Alexis: I don't know, that's why I need to go. And plus Hayley's going and I want to sit with her so we can talk.
Me: (with a crazy look on my face) Please go finish your homework!

Crazy week!

So of course Tuesday was a pretty crazy/bad day for me. But it got even crazier! Friday night I worked for Joel. I told my babysitter I would be back to get the girls around 10:00 or 11:00. We usually work for 4-5 hours. Oh no! Not this time. Erica and I were leaving at 8:30!!! It was a super fast little thing. I decided since I didn't have the girls with me I would go and talk to Heather and Jason. I prayed, Jennifer prayed, and Cherry prayed for me! Everything went pretty smooth. I was able to tell them my feelings about a lot of stuff, I was totally honest and did not cry in front of them! I didn't really get the response I was wanting from Jason, but that's okay. I felt a lot better when I left.

The girls were invited to go to a birthday party on Saturday at the YMCA for Bailey. It was a swimming party and the girls were so excited about being able to go swimming. When we got out to the car I noticed that the jacket that was covering up my purse on the floor board was no longer covering up my purse. We went inside to make sure I didn't just forget it inside at the party. I was almost positive that I didn't take it in, but I just wanted to make sure. As it turned out I didn't take it in with me. While we were inside the YMCA someone opened my car door and stole my purse! At first I actually thought it was kind of funny. When we were walking in, something told me to get my wallet. (God) So they didn't get my wallet which is very good! All they really got was my make-up, some Girl Scout patches, pay check stubs, and my work keys. There was other stuff in there but nothing really important. I had to call the police so I could find out what to do since they now had my social security number which is on my pay check stubs. And I called my boss to let him know about my work keys. We're getting new locks Wednesday at work and the lock on the post office box is also being changed. But the worst part is that ALL my makeup is gone! The only thing I did not have in my purse is my foundation. Sunday morning I went over to Jennifer's so I could use some of her make up. On the plus side though, I got to go get new make up Sunday evening! And I love to shop!

Sunday morning after I took Alexis and Paige to church I went by the donut shop to get Anoe a donut. While we were in line, my check engine light came on. I was so frustrated! I was like come on! I need a break here! I went to Jennifer's and did my make up then Anoe and I went to church. I was seriously thinking about not going to church though. I just wasn't in the mood to smile and act like everything was OK. I was feeling a little better about the whole Jason thing, and I thought I was OK with my purse being stolen, but then the car thing just sent me over the edge! When we pulled up at the Junior High, I just started feeling better. David gave me a big huge like he does every Sunday, OK really like he does every time he sees me. I went in got Anoe signed in and went to find Cherry. She gave me this really awesome book that she got while she was at a Joyce Meyer's conference over the weekend! Worship started and everything was all better. After church the check engine light was still on and Mike (Cherry's husband) told me that I could take it down to Auto Zone and they could hook my car up to some kind of machine that would tell me what was wrong with it and I could call him to see if he could fix it. I knew it needed an oil change, so I just went ahead and took it to Avis Lube. They said the system was too lean?!?!?!? Yeah I have no idea about that kind of stuff. He said it could be because I have been getting gas from a different place and my car wasn't used to it. So anyways, I got my oil changed and a new fuel filter, and they did something to make the light go off. And now my car's back to normal! Nice and beautiful with it's pink hearts on the seats and steering wheel.

My week was pretty crazy and frustrating but God took care of everything. Like he always does. And today I'm in such a good mood! I'm almost giddy! The girls and I are going to another one of Mason's baseball games Tuesday, so I'm looking forward to that. Oh and not that I'm excited or anything, but I'm leaving for Galveston in 3 weeks and 1 day!

Emotions

Tuesday I had to go to Sweetwater for a child support hearing with Alexis' dad, Jason. They haven't seen her since May 5, 2007! At her birthday party!!! And they've only called her three times in the past year. All three time have been in the past month and a half since he's been served with the papers saying we have court in April. Monday night when we were still at Girl Scouts Heather (Jason's girlfriend) called and said there was no way they could make it to the hearing the next day because their jeep is acting up and if I would give them a ride there. The last two times we've gone to Sweetwater for child support hearings I have given them rides. It hasn't been a big deal until now. They were making an effort to be involved in Alexis' life then, and I didn't mind taking them with me. Jason has only been in Alexis' life since June 2004. He dropped out of the picture for about 7 or 8 months after they met and started building a relationship. When they did decide they wanted to be a part of her life I told them that I wanted them to be a part of her life all the time and not just when it was convenient for them. That's not how it works when you have a child! And I totally understand how hard everything is for them. Jennifer would make all kinds of excuses for them and why I should be more understanding. And in the end I always was. They both agreed that they would stay involved with Alexis and apologized and I thought everything would be OK. Then after her birthday party last year they took her with them so she could stay the night. They brought her home Sunday evening and we never heard from them again until last month. I was furious with them! Jason figured out a way to go to Sweetwater at least twice a month when he was living in Dallas to see his son with another woman before they finally got Jayton to go live with them in Dallas. Granted Jayton needed them in his life way more than Alexis. His Mom was really into drugs and very abusive. Alexis doesn't have to deal with any of that thankfully. But twice a month at the LEAST they would figure out a way to go to Sweetwater from Dallas. And they couldn't call Alexis even once a month? And they live in Abilene! And I found out at the hearing that they have made more than one trip to Sweetwater to see Xavier. He's another child of his from a previous relationship. OK, so I'm really upset about all of this.

Well, when Heather called I told her I was at a Girl Scouts meeting and couldn't talk. I told her to call me back later. She never did. I went out to Sweetwater for the hearing and I saw that their vehicle was there. As soon as I walked in she got up and walked over to me and said she needed to talk to me outside. I was like OK, can I check in first? She just started talking! She kept saying she was sorry and that Jason had been in the hospital and he's having to take medication every day now and they've just really had a bad year. She said they've been evicted twice in the past year and have a $897.00 electric bill. And a couple of months ago she noticed a couple of bumps in her right breast, she has a doctors appointment to get it checked out but she's scared about it. And she doesn't have anyone but Jason so if he goes to jail she doesn't know what she'll do. She was crying and telling all this over and over again. I do feel bad for them! I know it's hard for them. They have 3 kids they're taking care of, and she doesn't work. He's supposed to be paying child support for Alexis, Xavier and for Jayton (even though Jayton lives with them, it's a big huge mess!). I don't want you to think I'm being heartless, but I'm not asking them for money! God has always taken care of us! I just want him to be in Alexis' life! A phone call a month would be OK with me. Is that so much to ask? She's an awesome kid.

So, Heather finally starts to calm down and she tries to hug me. I'm so not into hugging people. I'm OK with it if I'm used to you, but I wasn't really comfortable hugging her. She could tell I guess so she just kept talking and telling me the same stuff over and over. Finally she did hug me and we started walking back down the hall so we could wait to be called to the back. They were sitting right next to some people that I knew from when I used to live in Sweetwater. So I started talking to them until they went in.

After my friend went in I was sitting there doing my little sudoku game book that Jennifer gave me when I overheard Jason and Heather talking about this girl Tammy that was down at the other end of the hall. Tammy and I used to be friends before I moved to Abilene. Scott (Anoe's dad) and I had broken up because of his drug problem which is a whole other blog for another time! My grandma died a few weeks after we had broken up and the girls and I went up to Colorado for the funeral. While I was there I did a lot of thinking and decided that I didn't want Anoe to grow up away from her dad, so when we got back to Sweetwater I would talk to him and finally agree to try to work it out. Well when I got back, I found out that Tammy and Scott had been dating (for lack of a better word) and were now living together. I was only gone to Colorado for like a week! It's not like I left for 6 months or anything. So obviously Tammy and I aren't friends anymore. This last year at the BFW I finally was freed of all my anger towards them both. (*Believe me I know this sounds like some sort of trashy soap opera! But I'm so not that person anymore!*) Even though I was no longer angry about everything it was still awkward seeing her again.

My friend came out and sat back down beside me. Tammy walked by and stopped to talk to my friend then started talking to Jason and Heather. Misty, my friend, asked me if I was still mad or whatever about everything and I told her "No, I totally feel indifferent about the whole thing. God totally took away all those feelings last year!" Tammy was standing right there and I know she was listening to what we were saying but she didn't say anything to me. I'm not angry with her but I don't feel I need to try to be friends with her either.

OK, so back to Jason and the child support hearing. They finally called me back. Jason owes me like over $15,000 in back child support. He's paid a total of $723.01 in the past 10 years! The lady said that I could forgive him the $15,000 and start over fresh if I wanted to. The last time we were there, they said if he didn't start making regular payments he would have to go to jail. I asked her about his signing over his rights and what that would do. She said that I would have to hire an attorney, but that he wouldn't have to pay back the money he owes me. He would still have to pay back the State of Texas the $2,100 he owes them though. The lady called for Jason to come in. She told him exactly how much he owed and started asking all the usual questions about how much he makes, where he works, why he hasn't been paying. She told him that I was willing to forgive the full $15,000 if he would sign over his parental rights. He said and I quote "Yeah that's fine. I was thinking about that anyways." Believe me I know what a financial burden this is for them. But isn't she worth the freakin' fight? The lady said I could sign some papers and the back child support would be forgiven with out him signing over his rights. He said he didn't think he would be able to ever pay the full amount of $114.00 a month that he's ordered to pay.

I know what it's like to struggle! I do this on my own every flippin' day! Heather chooses not to work. If they're so broke why doesn't she get a part time job in the evening when Jason is home so he can watch the kids while she's at work? I'm trying to be sympathetic but they need to help themselves too! I know I'm the one that asked about it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. I have so many emotions about this it's crazy. I'm mad because he won't be apart of her life, forget the money just have something to do with her. The park is free! He could just take her there, I know he takes his other kids there. I'm sad because he already had it in his mind that this is what he wanted before we even mentioned it. And I'm happy because I know this is relieving so much pressure off of them, and this is a blessing for them! And I'm mad because Heather is the one that keeps apologizing. Why can't Jason be a man and apologize? He's the one that has the responsibility to Alexis, not Heather.

After the hearing my Mom and Symantha showed up at the Courthouse. I was supposed to go over to their house when I was done, but my Mom said that she felt that she was supposed to come up there to see me. I'm really glad she did! I probably would of just come straight back to Abilene instead of going to see her. She let me cry and took me out to eat for lunch. I had a 1:15 appointment with an attorney to see what I needed to do to start the process of him relinquishing his paternal rights. The lawyer was really nice and took a bunch of notes. He said it's going to cost $1,400 to $1,800 to do this as long as Jason doesn't fight anything. Wednesday morning I faxed over the last Child Support Order I had from February 2007. So in 4-6 weeks this whole process will be done.

Tuesday night the girls and I had to go to the grocery store to get some basic stuff. While we were there I decided that I wanted some ice cream. I thought "Heck with the diet! I need something to comfort me!" We walked towards the ice cream aisle and I decided that I was not going to give in to my flesh. But then what's the next thing I see? Limited Edition Girl Scout Thin Mind Ice Cream! Only my favorite Girl Scout cookie mixed with ice cream! I ended up not getting the ice cream, but I did stop and stare it for awhile.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was really hard for me. I just have so many conflicting emotions right now. I keeping praying about everything and I just can't stop feeling so depressed! When I talked to Ms. Judy about it she said that I need to grieve. This is kind of like a death that I need to grieve. I've decided not to tell Alexis what we're doing. I told him he could still see her if he wanted to. I know one day I'll have to tell her, but hopefully not anytime soon. I don't want her to ever feel unloved or that he didn't want her.

Last night when I was praying for peace, I realized that I should be praying for Jason and his family. If this is hard for me, I can't even imagine what it's like for them. I have also decided that I'm going to go over there one day next week when I have some free time to talk to them. I want to invite them to church. They need God in their lives a lot right now. I know this is what God wants me to do, but I need to be able to go over there and not be angry with them or break down and cry. I cried the entire 15 minutes that I was tanning yesterday. Being at church last night to invite people to our church on the 27th really helped though. So many people were requesting prayers for cancer and it made me think about everything. These people are praying to live! And I'm whining because Jason wants to sign over his rights. What the heck is wrong with me? Today has been a lot better, but I don't think I'm ready to face them yet. If you think about it, please pray for Jason and his family!

Baseball

Friday night the girls and I went to watch Mason play baseball. His team did awesome! They won! After the game we had to go over to Cherry's house because I forgot to get an ice chest from her that she was going to let me borrow. Well when we got there, I thought I would just go up and get it. Anoe and Alexis had other plans though. They weren't about to let me go inside and see Cherry, Mason, or Mike without them being able to see them too. (My kids love them!) So anyways, we all go in and Mike and his nephew Taylor are talking to Mason about stuff he needs to work on when he's playing and stuff. I'm really not sure what exactly they were saying, I wasn't really paying attention. After we left the Alexis told me that she felt bad for Mason because they were being mean to him. I tried to explain to her that they weren't being mean, that's just the way guys do stuff. I'm more the type that's like woo-hoo you did awesome. (Even if they lose) So she really had a hard time understanding what was going on. I don't think in any way that Mike was being mean to Mason! They were just more in to the whole thing.

Saturday we went to a Third Day concert before the Rangers game. It was so awesome. They did a couple of new songs that are coming out on their new CD July 29th and some old school stuff. It was just amazing! I really liked it.

The Rangers game was way awesome too. Anoe and I sat with Rachel and the kids from the ESC yellow team. I really like talking with Rachel so that was a lot of fun. I'm usually not really into the whole spending lots of time with kids thing. But I had a blast with the yellow team. I do have to say that Joey was the best though. He was just so happy and content with his peanuts! Rachel got up to take him to go get something and he had peanut shells ALL OVER HIMSELF!!! It was awesome. I got Anoe a frozen ice treat thing that she wanted. We asked Joey if he wanted some and he was like "sure yeah OK". I told him that I didn't have an extra spoon, so would he mind sharing with Anoe. He just shrugged his shoulders and said that it was fine. Anoe ended up moving to sit next to him so they could share better. He was just so sweet with her. Some of the older kids (not necessarily any that were present at the game)are kind of mean to Anoe. I'm sure it's because she looks bigger than 6, but she way acts like she's 6. And she can be hard to understand at times. But Joey was super sweet to her. He even shared some of his peanuts with her. But anyways, back to the game. We did the wave a whole bunch of times. And we got to sing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game"! The ESC team left during the 7th inning so I moved over closer to Jennifer and Tony. Jennifer is so not into baseball! She enjoys all the commotion more than anything. I was really into yelling and screaming at the umpires. My throat was pretty sore Sunday morning. The Rangers lost though. But it was still a lot of fun!

Sunday after church the girls and I laid down for some quiet time, but I ended up sleeping for 3 hours! I really thought Anoe would have fallen asleep and taken a nap but she never did. She was super cranky Sunday morning at church.

In one month I'll be in Galveston! I'm so counting down (in case you couldn't tell)!

BEACH NEWS!!!

So of course everyone knows how much I LOVE the beach! Well, yesterday I booked the beach house that we'll be staying in for one whole week in June! June 2nd through the 8th to be exact! We even paid for the deposit! I'm so totally pumped! Oh and in one month seven days, I'll be at the beach for the weekend! OK so really I'll be in Galveston starting Wednesday, May 13th. But Jennifer will be there the 16th with the kids so we can have a mini vacation! And my super awesome friend Cherry will also be there!

So the plan is for me to find a boyfriend in May while I'm there, then in 2 weeks later when I'm there for my week long vacation he'll propose! And instead of moving to Clyde this August I'll just move down by the beach! OK so that really won't happen because that would only give us two weeks to get to know each other, but if he has a beach house down there I can just go to visit him once a month until next summer then we really can get married! Except I don't want him to live down there, just close by so that we can go to the beach whenever we want but not so close that it's not as amazing every time we go! And of course ya'll can come visit me any time you need to get away for some nice beach relaxing fun!







*Seriously, I'm just kidding about this whole thing, but I would love to live closer to the beach so I didn't have to drive so far!

Answers

You know how sometimes you pray and pray and pray for something? And then when God gives you the answer you've been seeking it's totally not what you thought it would be? I know God has the perfect plan for me and my life, but dang I would be lieing if I said I didn't get frustrated that the answer wasn't what I was hoping for!

On to other stuff in the wonderful world of Amanda...
I have officially fallen in love with jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon! They are so bloomin' good it's almost ridiculous. I bought a deep fryer a couple of weeks ago, and I am planning on finally using it for the first time this week. I'm going to attempt to make an awesome blossom! And make some jalapenos in the oven. Not exactly the healthiest of meals, but I'll just walk a little extra or something.

I've been walking 3-4 nights a week. My usual routine is to walk around the playground, up by the pool, over around the basketball/tennis courts, and then back around to the playground again. I do this little route four times, which I think maybe hopefully comes to about one mile. I'm really not sure, but I'm going to say that it's super close to a mile. Anyways, Sunday I did 6 laps instead of my usual 4! Then Sunday evening I thought the girls could play at the park for a little bit and I could walk 4 more laps. Well, Anoe is totally into basketball right now. So she went straight for the basketball court and started bouncing her ball. I asked her if she wanted to play for a little bit and she got really excited about it. Alexis decided that she wanted to play too, and this other little girl "T" wanted to play too. So it was Alexis and Anoe against me and "T". It was so much fun! We weren't just throwing the ball either, we were actually running up and down the court! Nothing like the NBA of course, but still I was running! Anoe started feeling bad for me because "T" and I were losing. "T" didn't really like the whole running thing so she would just walk back and forth, and she couldn't quiet make the ball go into the basket and I was of course trying to let Anoe and Alexis win. (I'm a good Mom like that. OK fine Alexis was just really good! Dang there's no need to badger me!) So anyways, Anoe was feeling bad for me, so her and "T" traded teams so Anoe could help me win. Anoe's really good at dribbling, and traveling, but not so good with making baskets. And Alexis was like full force not letting me make a basket without her trying to steal the ball away. Anoe and I lost the game. And my sweet Anoe was so upset. I told her we would call her Uncle to see if he would come and play with us sometime this week. He could be on her team and Alexis and I would be on a team. I'm pretty sure Anoe and Joey will win that game. Joey's tall and skinny and has lots of energy so it'll be nothing for him to take on Alexis. And Anoe I will just dribble the ball whenever we make them give us a turn.

Last night Jennifer came to town with us, and we all went to watch Mason's game. It was so much fun! Xander started dancing for us during a little break. It was so flippin' awesome! I really wish I would have had my phone with me so I could have recorded it. He does some break dancing mixed with robot dancing, it's just awesome.

So if you read Jennifer's blog then you know that the New Kids on the Block are having a reunion tour. I just can not tell you how pumped I am about this! I have Hangin' Tough as a ringer on my phone! And I plan on getting The Right Stuff on my phone today! Oh! I also have the theme song from Saved By The Bell! I know everyone's going to be asking me where I got such cool ringers at. But I just can't share my secret right now. If I did, then everyone would have the same ringers, and what fun would that be? OK, maybe with a select few I'll share my secret.

Last subject! This past Saturday Alexis' Girl Scout troop went on a trip to Primetime to spend some of the money they earned from selling cookies this year. I was a little weary about taking 8 girls to Primetime for 3 hours. It ended up being awesome! They have this all day package, that included 33 attractions for $99.95. We got one of those, then some of the girls wanted to bowl and some wanted to golf, so we spent about 45 minutes doing that, each girl got a card with $5.00 on it so the could play arcade games, then we bought 6 more rides on the go karts. We were supposed to be back at the Girl Scout Hut at 3:30, but we didn't even leave Primetime until 3:30! Thankfully I didn't have to come back to Clyde. There were enough seats in the other leaders car that all the girls were able to ride back with her. So Alexis and I went back inside and went to the 3D Theatre thing. It was so much fun. We also played a few more games in the arcade and shared a hamburger. I would so recommend going to Primetime for a treat! It was just so much fun! They also have this package where you can have 3 hours of unlimited fun for $25.00. You have to have at least 10 in your party though for that.

I think that's everything that has been happening in my life for the past 2 weeks. We're going to a Rangers game this Saturday, so I'm sure I'll have stuff to blog about next week. Anoe and I have been practicing on our "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" song too!