Are the Go-Go’s playing in your head too?

If I had written this post last night or early this morning it would sound something like this:  AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Fortunately, I’ve come to grips with what happened yesterday.  Well, I’ve pulled my head out of the oven anyhow.  Here’s a quick run down of what the first 10 minutes at the lawyers sounded like:

Lawyer- What’s going on?

Us- Indy…rash…infection…fake choking…

Lawyer- Why aren’t we asking for full custody???  Why hasn’t CPS been called???

Us- Uuuhhh…we were taking what we thought we could get, and we don’t know if the doctor called in CPS or not (base docs let crap slide a lot and I wasn’t at the ER to ride the guy about it). 

We found out that the copy of the original agreement that we got from the lawyer back in January wasn’t a full copy.  According to the agreement, we should have been getting the kids every other week beginning in June.  So now we don’t know why Mull was all, “When are you taking them for 2 weeks?”  Is she just sick of them or was she trying to put some points in her corner or is she just worried that she won’t get paid if we keep them half-time or did she forget that we were supposed to have them too?  I’m always saying that Paladin doesn’t give Mull enough credit for being sneaky, but he swears that she’s disorganized and not too on the ball to boot.  Time will tell especially since we just found out from Sanjaya2 this afternoon that she starts her paid training at the nursing home next week and that she made Bell come to work with her there last Friday leaving the kids with blind Jeremy.  When the lawyer heard that she might be going to work, he was practically salivating, although he didn’t really say why.  He did look like the cat that caught the canary pretty much the entire time and he didn’t even let me get more than 3 sentences out about the state of the children.  It literally was “Indy…rash…infection…Bell wanting out desperately and taking care of the kids 90% of the time.”  It was two hours of strategy and the lawyer pontificating while we were sitting there going, “We get it; let’s do something about it.”

The lawyer’s game plan is this:  Get divorced.  Get married.  One month later, sneak up and bite Mull in the ass with the property settlement.  Keep the kids like they’re a bag of weed and we’re Rastafarians through September.  Then show up at court with all our evidence and go, “Hells nah!  Gimme dem kids!” 

I took it hard.  Really hard.  I completely freaked.  I don’t completely freak too often but I did this time.  Paladin got paid a grand total of $1400 last month and $1100 plus a $200 car note went to Mull.  Does that give you an idea of how hard up things have been here?  We had a little savings and once-empty credit cards and we’ve been making do.  Then I turn around and hear: You need to feed and shelter 5 kids for the next month (if Mull lets us have them the entire time…we’re going to go in stages and play the “we didn’t have them in June the way were supposed to; why don’t we just keep them a little longer” card).  Yeah, I completely freaked.  I admit it.  I didn’t know how we’d do it.  I was stressed already and worn to the bone with Mom.  Now, here I am taking this head on.  Yes, I know it’s what we’ve been hoping for.  The difference is that we weren’t expecting it until after Mull had to give up some of that cash.  It’s damned hard to feed 5 kids under any circumstances and at this rate, she’s actually going to be getting about half of his income and the mortgage takes up nearly the entire other half.  Of course, at the same time I realize that this is temporary and if we can get through the next 3 or 4 months, we might actually get the kids MORE than half time. 

For now, though, I’m being pouty.  I’ve already warned Paladin and freaked him out over it.  If this legal bill gets big enough (and it probably will), it may mean losing the Extravaganza altogether and losing our chance to try to have a child.  I couldn’t help but cry over that.  I told him the truth.  If that happens, I’m just not so big a person that I won’t feel the tiniest twinge of resentment.  In my mind, I would literally be giving up my children for his.  It’s wrong of me to feel that way.  I know that.  I know its unfair of me.  But, I just can’t help it.  As much as I love him and as much as I love these kids, I still want something of me. 

I don’t care if Mull does fall off the side of the Grand Canyon tomorrow; she will always be their mother.  I don’t get that role.  I don’t get the satisfaction of standing up and saying, “That’s my girl/boy” when they graduate or get married.  They won’t be giving birth to my grandchildren.  All I get to do is sacrifice and work and try to make life better for them.  All the thanks I will probably ever get is the karmic satisfaction of knowing I did all I could for them, their smiles and good night kisses.  I feel like an absolute ASS, but yeah, I’d still feel that I’d lost out on something if I don’t at least try to have one of my own.  It won’t ever stop me from being there, but there would be this same hole inside that I’ve been living with for the last 3 1/2 years. 

Let me tell ya.  If you want to scare the crap out of a man that you’re practically married to, that’s a damned fine way to do it.  Paladin always goes to the “you’re leaving me?” place.  Heck, this time even Tina went there.  NO!  I’m not going anywhere.  I’m just telling you how I feel.  He  hadn’t thought of it that way, and he tried to understand.  He also didn’t know about what happened with Mom in the last post.  It came out of left field for him, and I was sorry about that.  But, I’ve been living my life one day at a time for so long now that I’ve just been desperate for down time and for something that’s about me and not about how to avert the latest crisis. 

Today, I spent all day trying to put a game plan together.  Turns out, I AM a Duggar!  Thank the lord!  I now have chore lists and menu plans at the ready.  I just have to figure out some things for these kids to do that won’t cost anything and will keep me from strangling them!  Oh, who am I kidding?  I don’t care if I strangle them as long as its cheap.  Ha!  And, by this afternoon, I was worried less about how to take care of the kids and had enough time to be sad about losing the 2 pieces of our puzzle that have been keeping me going. 

Paladin insists that we’ll make both our baby and our wedding happen.  It didn’t excite me one bit.  His actual words were, “We can do something (for the wedding).”  Yay.  I know exactly what that means.  It’s the same thing I did last time.  Scrape and dig and crawl for something that’s “ok”, but don’t ask for special.  My face told him how I felt.  Then he said, “GET excited.  Dammit!”  At least, it made me smile for a minute. 

Just before Mom fell, Tina gave me some wedding magazines.  I had ripped out a few pages of ideas and had them on my nightstand.  Last night, I couldn’t help but be a total drama queen.  I didn’t even want to see them.  I’m still having a wedding, but as of right now, it’s more for Savvy than for me.  Savvy has her heart set on being a flower girl and has explained to me exactly how it must be done.  Paladin wants it too.  As for me, I want to pout and throw a hissy fit and knock the wedding cake onto the floor.  That’s not going to happen though.  I’m just going to chug along and hope that the creative desire will overcome the destitution desperation.  I’ll be a recessionista bride, right!  Woot??  Meh…

Frankly, I’m a little sick of coming in last but getting Miss Congeniality.  Nobody ever remembers Miss Congeniality.  They see her smile and then she just fades away.  Sometimes I feel like I took an invisibility potion.  I swear I look down and I’m staring right through my hands.  I know.  Welcome to motherhood.  Where’s my badge and taser?

If you’ve got ideas to keep the kids off the streets, send them my way!  Mind you, I refuse to spend half my life cleaning up craft projects that they aren’t going to care less about a week later, but if it’s cheap or free, I want to hear it!  I’ve already looked at the library and all they’ve got is one bug expo and a Wednesday story hour. 

P.S.- Mom is coming home in the morning!  Thanks again for all your prayers. 

We finally got word from the kidney specialist this afternoon.  Mom’s kidney function is down to 20%.  At 12%, they will begin dialysis.  There’s nothing to do but watch her diet and hope that it takes a while before it goes down.

I was on the phone with Tina a few minutes ago.  She told me that Mom had said something about grandchildren.  My heart jumped a little and I thought she was talking about Paladin’s kids.  I think of them more and more as “our kids”.  Tina said that she wasn’t sure if Mom was dreaming or just mumbling because of the pain killers, but she said, “I’m not going to live long enough to have grandchildren.”  That has hit me so hard and on so many fronts.  I can’t stop crying even as I write this.  I don’t know what to say about it.  I don’t know how I feel about it. 

I know they aren’t our kids, but they feel like mine more and more.  I’ve never stopped feeling the need to have my own child, but that has never stopped me from loving these babies that are not my own.  I know what my mother feels.  It’s the same longing I feel.  But, I can’t make her any promises any more than I can make them for myself. 

Tonight, that rips me in two.

I’ve only got a few minutes so here’s the short version:

Managed care sucks!  Mom is too well to stay in the hospital, but not well enough to go to the rehab.  The docs answer?  Put her in a nursing home.  Our answer?  Like HELL!  Now, we have until Monday to get the house practically rebuilt!  Damn it all!  I’ll be back soon.

With any luck, Mom will be moved into the rehab today after less than a week!  She’s doing that well.  That’s 2 weeks ahead of schedule.  So we’re hoping that it won’t take the full 6 weeks to get her home again.  The problem is that the Brothers are going to have to fast track some home renovations to get the place wheelchair accessible.  Over the years, when Tina and I did minor renovations, we did think ahead and add grab bars and a wider bedroom door for Mom.  But, this one is going to be bigger.  We’re hoping that some community organizations will offer up some supplies.  We’ve got the labor (fortunately, the Brothers and Dad used to run a small time construction company that did home renovations for the elderly and handicapped…so they know what the legalities are).  We’ve just got to work with what we have for now.  If it’s not good enough for the home health folks, they will just have to live with it!

Tomorrow, we take Brian to the VA in Pineville and we are going to be able to see Mom again.  Tina’s been pulling the heavy load this time, but if nothing comes up, I’m going to try to sneak over next week and do an overnight stay with Mom.  Tina stayed the last 2 nights, but at least the room they have her in is big enough to be comfortable.  It’s got the sofa and sleeper chair of death.  Man, those are a pain in the butt (literally!) to sleep in.  Torture devices, pure and simple!  At least the pain management skills of the nurses is up to par instead of the way it was last year when I spent a week with Mom in the same type of situation.  I think it also helps that she’s in traction.  Yeah, she can still complain and wants to be moved around just as much.  But there are only 2 decent positions to get into this time.  That takes away some of the guess work.

I’m sorry I didn’t get around to the internet yesterday.  Scratch that.  I’m not sorry.  I slept like I was dead and it felt oh so good.  I got up later than I have in over a year.  I felt so good all day and without a drop of caffeine!  It was awesome! 

Then we went out to pick up dinner and it was a little less awesome.  We tried the mexican place around the corner again.  The last time we tried it, it was barely ok.  Then it shut down within days.  Obviously, it was a health department thing.  When we went back to the “new” place, it was the exact same people with a new septic system, a slightly different menu, slightly higher prices, and just as “ok” an outcome.  You’re actual Mexicans!  Aren’t you ashamed when you see this food go out?  I can do better and I know a real Mexican or 2 that can back me up on that!  Stop trying to Americanize it.  Do what your mama would do!  I guarantee the gringos will come!  It truly saddens me.  The other Mexican place is way better and it’s run by a Korean lady.  That is just wrong.

Oh and the zucchini…it’s back.  I had no sooner canned that last batch than I had gathered about that much more.  I figure I’m about two thirds through the entire zucchini season.  Seriously, I want those recipes!    Paladin was talking last night about wanting a zucchini bread recipe.  I’m obviously really bad for his low carb diet.

I’m off to catch up on ya’ll now. 

Well, Mom’s left leg anyhow.  The ortho doc ended up using only plates to fix both her leg and her knee.  They put her broken wrist in a brace, but they are holding off on doing any surgery to the broken shoulder hoping that it will begin to heal on its own.  There are conflicting replies to any specific questions, but so far, the answer is simple.  My mother will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.  The doctor’s say that she’ll only be able to walk a few steps.  Although we can hope for better with therapy, it’s not likely to get any better than that.  She’s going to be in the hospital for 3 weeks and then in the rehabilitation wing for another 3 weeks minimum. 

We have joked about it in our typical way, “Hey, it ain’t like she was walkin’ a whole lot before.”  It’s our way.  I can see it in my brother’s faces though.  I know that we joke but we also know that Mom’s been slowly going downhill for years.  I even repeated the “joke” to Paladin and Bell after I talked to Tina Sunday night.  I didn’t say anything about the diagnosis at first.  I washed dishes for about an hour trying not to cry.  Finally, Paladin came in from taking care of the little girls, and I told him.  He hugged me tight.  Bell was standing nearby caught up in her teenager stuff, but she was shocked and I knew she wanted to say something.  I told her it was ok that as people get older these things happen.  If there’s one consistent thing I hope I’m teaching these kids, it’s that when you get hit, you stand up and keep going.  It was incredibly hard to leave Tina and Mom in that emergency room and drive the nearly 2 hour stretch to Deridder.  It was even harder knowing that there was nothing I could do, but take care of these babies until I could get back to the rest of my our family.  It wasn’t any easier when the kids were begging me to let them stay another night and I couldn’t because they weren’t allowed in the ICU and I just couldn’t wait another night to see Mom. 

I knew it would be hard to hold it together with the usual insanity, but then we got added nuts.  When I took off Indy’s diaper, that baby had about a tablespoon full of discharge from an infection filling her crotch!  I was so damned mad.  First thing Saturday, Paladin took her to the ER and came back with a diagnosis of vaginitis and an anti-fungal cream (according to Paladin, Mull was shocked when he told her…yeah, it’s easier to see infections if you’re actually taking care of your child and not just leaving them to fend for themselves).  Of course, Sunday was Martian’s birthday and he had a rather annoying and slightly rude friend stay the night for it along with our usual compliment of 5 plus Sanjaya2.  Then somewhere along the way Bell told me that she’d packed enough clothes for a week because Mull told her they were staying the week with us.  Mull either changed her mind or chickened out because she never said boo about it.  Paladin went by on Monday to drop off the bike we bought Martian for his birthday and Mull told him we could have them another day.  I don’t know.  Maybe she was planning to slip a week in throught he backdoor one day at a time?  Paladin explained about Mom and that we couldn’t take them.  Today?  Bell calls up asking if they can come by to pick up something.  I’m guessing Mull was just nosey and was making sure we really were going to the hospital.  I felt so bad sending them back there when they were begging to stay with us.  Blondie spent all weekend telling me, “I love you” (that’s kind of a big deal with her because she’s very attached to her mother).  Savvy even brought me a present.  Indy spent most of the weekend acting out by fake choking (she coughs a few times and then says “I’m choking” and coughs some more) and going into her “I scared” mode where every single thing makes her recoil and yell “I scared”; we started potty training her here this weekend and when she pooped her panties she came to me crying and begging for a diaper like it was the end of the world.  It ties me up in knots.  First thing Monday, we made an appointment with the lawyer (we’ve tried to make others over the last couple of weeks but couldn’t get one).  I’m hoping he’ll pick up the phone and call Child Protective Services on her because Paladin and I won’t unless we have to.  Up until now, his lawyer has obviously considered this an easy case.  He’s WRONG.  It’s about to get a lot more heated unless by some miracle Mull just rolls over for it.  I doubt that will happen.  Mull gets everything she has ever had or will have from giving birth.  It’s part of her psyche and she won’t let go of those kids without an argument.  But, we’re not going to go easy on her.  Enough is enough.  Like I said, my nerves were frayed the entire weekend and I was getting through hour by hour on almost no sleep.  If it weren’t for the kids, I think I’d have been sitting in the hospital crying the entire time. 

I am so grateful for where I am right now.  I stood in the hospital room today with Tina and Paladin arranging Mom’s pillows (it took the 3 of us to get them the way she wanted) and I knew that I couldn’t get any luckier than I am right now.  If Paladin hadn’t been helping me through the day to day stuff this weekend, I’d have lost it.  I’m sure I hid it well, and he probably won’t know until he reads this, but I was pretty low.  I’m so glad I have him.  We may drive each other up the wall at times, but most of the time, we are right there holding on to one another for dear life.  I thank each and every one of you for all your prayers.  Not just for those of these last few days, but for the prayers and hopes of all these months that have gotten me where I am today.  I went from a settled life of mainly inward conflict to a crazy melodramatic life of constant upheaval, and I’m the better for it. 

I called my Dad on Friday night for his birthday.  I hadn’t talked to him in a lot of months.  I let him talk to his soon-to-be-grandchildren for a few minutes before the step-slag made him hang up.  I was still glad that I did it.  My life is a shambles and I want EVERYONE, past and present, to be a part of it no matter what. 

I know that this post probably isn’t making sense, but I’m too overwhelmed to make sense of anything anymore.  Sorry.  I’m going to try to get some sleep tonight and come back tomorrow making some sense. 

Love, Anna.

That last post was a pre-post.  Last night, Mom fell.  Tina was out here with me and the boys called about 10:45 just as I was getting out of the shower.  She’s in ICU right now.  She’s got a shattered thigh, and they still aren’t sure if her shoulder/arm is fractured or what.  It’s only been a little over a year since her last fall.  Unfortunately, she’s having the same problems this time with her potassium being way too high, and they’ve called in a kidney specialist.  Her kidneys have been failing for years due to the diabetes, but we won’t know anything for a while.  I finally had to leave the hospital to get back here for Pascal and for Paladin’s kids.  I’m not sure what’s going on right now, and I just can’t even think straight.  I’ll be back online as soon as I can.

 

*Update*

Mom has broken her shoulder, her wrist in 2 places, and her thigh break went into her knee and it’s possible that the knee will need a replacement.  She has an entire team of doctors taking good care of her.  They’ve already diagnosed her with osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and have started her on albuterol for her breathing difficulties.  All of those conditions should have been caught long ago!  And Tina and I have been mentioning the symptoms to her GP forever!  Last year when she broke her arm, I remember SexyDoctor giving her a bone scan and saying that it didn’t look good, but he wasn’t her GP; CreepyDoctor has been her GP for nearly 20 yrs.  I don’t blame CreepyDoctor much because he has so much going on with the baby mama dramas and he owns 80% of the medical offices in Leesville.  He’s sly and that doesn’t bother me.  Things will slip through the cracks, but some of this should have been caught.  That’s why Sally Field is hocking the drugs.  Unfortunately, last year their only thought was that we must be beating her because it was a spiral fracture.  At least, now they know better.  But, it will be Sunday at the earliest before Mom gets in for surgery.  I’ll be back soon.  And thank you for all your prayers.  Heather, Mom’s first name is the same as mine; it’s Anna.  Bye, ya’ll.

Earlier in the week, I mentioned that the Borrowed Girls got dirty.  This is an extreme rarity.  I’m not sure if it’s the consequence of living in base housing and a trailer park or if it’s because Mull doesn’t allow them to go outside, but these kids think they can’t go out the front door without me looking at them.  It’s nuts!  Our entire property has a fence.  There’s no where for them to get lost or anything.  But, even when Mull was here (and at her next abode which was a fenced rent house) these kids didn’t go outside alone.  I’m changing all of that, but it’s an uphill battle.  The girls think the only way to play outside is in a nice clean park with play equipment. 

So last weekend, when I was getting ready to feed them all the “special kool aid” because they were driving me nuts, I went outside and filled an old stockpot with water and handed them toys to dig with and an assortment of old dolls and showed them the best spot to make a mud pit.  You’d have thought I was showing them how to make meth.  They thought I had lost it.  Finally, Paladin sat down with them and showed them what a mud pie is.  Savvy is almost 9 and she didn’t know what a mud pie was.  I find that incredibly sad.  I remember fondly eating a bite of mud pie.  I remember more fondly feeding them to Dave.  hee hee  But, we decided that if we left them to it the kid instinct might kick in.  NOT! 

A few minutes later, Paladin and I were having coffee on the porch when Savvy came bouncing up.  She’d gotten mud on her fingertips and wanted to go inside and wash her hands.  Well, just let me get the CDC on the phone, right now, girly!  I yelled out and made the other two stick their heads around the corner (the mud pit is out of sight but we can still hear them from the porch).  Then, I told them in no uncertain terms that they were not coming back inside until I saw mud on their arms, legs, hands, and faces, and I sent them back to play.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what was going to happen next.  Paladin and I sat there on the porch listening to the groaning and giggling for a few minutes knowing full well what was about to happen.  Finally, Blondie and Savvy appeared doing their impression of Frankenstein going “Eewww!” with every step.  They had went around the corner and put mud on themselves so they could come inside.  (note to self: next time tell them they have to leave it on and continue playing for another 20 minutes)  I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw this coming:

 

Note the look of abject horror on Savvy’s face.  lol  At least, Indy got the idea.  She walked all the way back to the porch with her shorts around her knees and a toy in one hand and a plastic trowel in the other.

 

LOL  It was beyond fun.  Even with the hour long bathtub cleaning process, it was entirely worth it.  And now, they have lots of clothes to get dirty in.  Muahahah!!!!!

I was going to comment but instead I decided on a quickie post.

I’ll take all zucchini recipes ladies!  I just picked 4 more, and there should be a few dozen more coming soon.  *sigh*  

Don’t be surprised if I start asking for cucumber recipes too.  I made the mistake of planting 2 pkts.  I must’ve lost my mind!  Now, I’m set to be covered in non-pickling cucumbers.  There’s going to be a lot of Greek Rice Salad going on around here soon. 

As for the Borrowed Girls, they’re sizes are 4T, 6 girls and 8 girls, but I expect them to be busting out of those by this Fall. Fortunately, because of the arrival yesterday of my (nearly) final load of crap, Paladin was forced to go through some of the shite that Mull left behind.  When he did, lo and behold there were several summer dresses to fit Indy and some stuff for Blondie.  Now, the only one that I wonder if I have enough stuff for is Savvy.  I’ve got her “enough” but it’s about half of what the other two have and I’m completely expecting the “Why did they get it when I didn’t?” conversation.   

And I thought ya’ll might like an update on Flaxen.  It’s what I thought would happen.  He begged her and they were starting to get back together.  I say “were” because he went to court yesterday and there was an automatic ”no contact order” put in place for the next month and a half.  I hope she will change her mind about him during that time, but it’s doubtful.  It’s such self-destructive behavior and it just kills me.  I’ve not been in an abusive relationship like that (M. had a look in his eye once and I thought he might…my first instinct was to put one hand on the heaviest lamp I owned…I’d have taken him out).  But, I have been self-destructive using my weight and my tendency to isolate.  I hope I understand at least on some level.

Well, I better get back to installing Martian’s walls.  It’s his birthday on Sunday and he gets to move back into his room! 

TTYL!

I’m drowning!  In zucchini, that is.  It’s a good thing that I love zucchini or I’d be tempted to start pulling the plants up!  Instead, I’m just pulling my hair out.

This was the first weekend of zucchini (after giving away several to the neighbors and before making 2 days of zucchini filled dinners):

 

Uh huh.  Now you see why I’m feeling a tad insane.  I canned all night and ended up with this:

 

Yep.  That’s more zucchini waiting to be canned behind those 14 jars. 

But I have found a wonderful NEW recipe!  Those lemony yellow jars in the center are Lemon Zucchini Cream.  OMG!  It is so freakin’ good!  Supposedly, it tastes like lemon curd but with a different texture.  Unfortunately, I’ve never gotten around to trying lemon curd, and I can’t tell you whether it does or not.  All I can say is it tastes delicious!  I think I’m going to have to make a lemon cake and use this as the frosting.  Mmmm…or lemon bars.  It’s pretty easy to make too and although the recipe is for canning, you could just make about half of the recipe and keep it in the fridge. 

For some reason, the English knock-off recipes appeal to me when it comes to zucchini.  Those 3 jars on the left are my version of Branston pickle which is apparently a relish that they put on sandwiches in Brittain.  All I know is my bastardized version (I don’t put the spices in and I only use 3 veggies) is amazingly awesome on sandwiches.  I just use equal parts brown sugar and apple cider vinegar with a dollop of lemon juice (about 2 tablespoons per cup of brown sugar) and a dash of salt as a brine to cook zucchini, bell pepper, and onions.  It smells up the whole house, but if you love pickles or sauerkraut, make some!  I kept almost a quart of it out of the canning process and just popped it in the fridge.  It’s better everyday it sits in there!

The kids even took some zucchini home, but I’ve still got tons to can.  Blondie was eating it raw and she helped me make a savory pie for dinner using some of it. 

 

We made a sweet pie out of the last of the berries too, and she and Savvy made pie crust animals and hearts that they sprinkled with sugar to snack on.  Blondie wasn’t sold on the savory pie for dinner, but then again, what does she know?  She dresses like this:

I would laugh but that’s MY HAT she’s wearing.  You can’t tell from the look on her face, but she put that ensemble together all on her own despite me telling her she looked like a gypsy that’s escaped from the Arctic Circle.  You just gotta love kids. 

I want to thank all of you for your thoughts on Flaxen’s situation.  As predicted, the minute he got out he called her up.  Like an idiot, she went to his grandmother’s home alone (she told her girlfriend about it but not her family).  Once there, he gave her a sob story and told her that he wouldn’t be able to see his son for 3 yrs. if convicted and begged her not to testify.  The court date is a long time from now, but she’s wavering about whether or not to testify already.  I hope that she will go to court FOR HIS SON and for hers!  If this “man” did that in front of her child and has a record of doing the same thing to his ex, he probably did the same in front of his own child.  He needs to be somewhere to think about what his life is and where some other men can “get through to him” about how violence is not the answer.  Nothing like prison to do that!  Grrr…

As for me…

Ever think something is going to take x amount of time and it ends up taking 20x?  Ha!  I did use algebra after all.  Thanks, Muslims!  (obviously I should stop watching the Daily Show in a near coma).  I have moved and moved and moved some more.  I’m sick of moving.  And…it ain’t over!  There are at least 3 more loads of things to be moved THIS WEEK!  Dammit all.  In the middle of all of it there was a kid’s weekend and lots of gardening.  So, I’ve got some posts for this week and probably next week too! 

I even managed to take your advice and pick up some clothes for my Borrowed Girls.  I managed to spend about $30 at garage sales and another $30 at Walmart filling in their summer wardrobe for our house.  I’m not going to stop Mull from sending them clothes because I bought things that they will be getting dirty in and boy’s underwear shirts (aka wife beaters) for them to sleep in and not a lot of nice clothes.  Last weekend, the girls wanted to help me paint and I couldn’t let them because they had nothing to get dirty in!  (they did manage to get dirty but that’s a whole other post heehee)  This was the exception to the clothes to get dirty in:

 

How freakin’ cute is that dress!  Tina paid a dollar for it!  And I got a fancy houndstooth coat with fur collar and cuffs for another dollar that will fit Blondie this coming winter.  One of the few things Mull and I have in common is a love of a good bargain.  Fortunately, I try to be practical about it and don’t just buy a lot of crap that we’re not going to use.  I even got a potty chair/stepstool for Indy.  Now, she can be trained at our house too, but I’ll probably have to get another set of big girl panties for her since I never get to see anything I send to Mull’s ever again (that’s right, Mull…I finally figured out that the new underwear they showed up with weren’t the one’s I sent home with them…I hope you made a profit between selling the Disney princess underwear and buying the plain striped underwear out of the irregular section). 

Oh well, I’m off to look at your blogs.  It’s Sunday and this is a pre-post.  I’m hoping that by the time this loads on Monday I’ll be all caught up on what everyone’s been doing and be able to swing right into action! 

P.S.- Monday and I’ve got a virus that lets me post comments 3 times before I have to reboot!  ARRGGHH!!!  As God is my witness, I’ll comment again!  Today!  But it will probably be after Paladin’s doctor’s appointment.  Ohhh…and Momma, I was there, but it’s back to being Google ID’s only.    Pretty please…