what do you want first? the bad news? or the bad news?

I've been extremely busy, with the move and now with work. I have probably 60% of the unpacking done here in the new house, but no time to get anything really accomplished. I really love this house! The kids are happier than ever to be living here too! Brad helped me move everything. I totally love that man. He really helped out! He even moved some things for me while I was at work (we work opposite shifts). Without him, this move would still be going on. lol.

Just when you think good luck is on your side, you get blindsided. During the move, my car broke (some kind of belt), my microwave took a poop, and I came to find out my dryer won't hook up b/c its a gas hookup here in the new house. Oh joy, I have been hang drying all my laundry every night, only because I don't really have the time to go to the laundromat--which is just about 4 or 5 blocks away.

Ohhh...but I have yet to mention the worst luck of all in this situation! My dumbass ex husband ISNT WORKING ANYMORE---SO I AM NOT GETTING CHILD SUPPORT!!! I am unsure if he quit (which he claims) or if he got fired. I am still trying to figure that out. It started dawning on me that he wasn't working so I kept texting him and asking--and he just ignored me. Finally, I called the place myself and found out first hand. Now, amidst all this, he went to Vegas with his new (omg, she is nasty) girlfriend and got engaged. She moved in with him sometime in September---her kids father---he died in JULY--in a tragic accident on the job. So her kids are getting all this insurance money and social security and her and Jamie have been running around like complete irresponsible idiots spending the money like wild fire on things that serve no purpose. He claims he quit his job to spend more time with her....who knows. I think he may have a drug habit. He looks like a total loser. Him, the new girlfriend--oh excuse me--the new FIANCE, AND HIS EX WIFE (we all remember her) went out just a few weeks ago and got matching lip piercings. He still has that stupid eyebrow ring, the one him and that Diana chick got to match (when he first moved out of my house) How the hell he intends to find a job with all that in his face I have no clue. He never did hold a job for very long. And as much as I hate to admit it, this last job he had was a good job. Hell, I was ready to take him back to child support to get more money outta him!

So, at least I had saved (Christmas) money because I have that to fall back on for the next couple of months. But now Christmas isn't going to be all that great. Thanks to that asshole. And you know..when I finally got it outta him why he isnt working he made some comment about how "he worked so late doing that job that he never had time for the kids" Yet he was off work for 3 weeks prior to this and never once bothered to see the kids during the week. Sure he takes them every other weekend. But he never shows up to Anthonys wrestling practices (much less takes him when he does have the kids) Since he isn't working, he never calls..doesn't bother at all. But this coming weekend is his weekend with the kids and I am sure he is going to take them. For some reason, he seems to think that 4 days a month is suitable to wear the "father of the year" t-shirt I have witnessed him wearing.

Well, I gotta get my butt to work. Luckily my mom and my brother are here to help me so I can work late at night. That's all I will be doing now, work work work. I miss the kids so much, but i have no other choice.

Anyway, hope everyone else is having better luck than I.

wonderful news!

Well, I have been waiting and waiting for luck to be on my side and it's finally happened. When I decided to let the house be repo'd last year it was a tough decision. It sucked because the house was MINE and dammit--I had to move only because I didn't have the money to pay to get the gas line fixed after Captain Dipshit messed that up for me and the kids. I remember how awful I felt. I was ashamed and felt like a loser. But I had to move or else we would have froze over the winter. I searched for a place to move and NOBODY would give me a chance. As soon as I said I was going thru a divorce I got the door slammed in my face, time after time. I finally found an apt in the paper and met my now landlord, who actually gave me the chance to prove myself. And that I did. I have spent the past 14 months now living in this apartment and making sure to pay my rent on time and keep this place clean and well kept...well, as tidy as I can with three kids living here. Lol. I have not been late on my rent once and for that I am pretty proud of myself. I've proven to my landlord, and myself more importantly, that I can be independent and rely on no one but myself. When my rent was up this past September I called my landlord, after hearing from my maintenance guy, about a house he had just bought for rental property. Unfortunatly I didn't reach my LL in time and he already had someone sign the lease. I was kinda upset, because I actually drove by the house and fell in love instantly with the outside of it and the neighborhood. My LL told me though that he didn't want to lose me as a tentant because he knows I am trustworthy and he would have definetly let me move from this apt to that house if I had called him just a few days prior. He offered me a deal I couldn't refuse if I would re-sign my lease here in this apt with the agreement that he would allow me to move into another one of his HOUSES if the opportunity arose. He was looking to buy another house sometime in the near future so I figured it was a good idea and its not like this apartment is hideous or anything like that.

Well, unfortunately for him, but LUCKILY for me, the tenant that moved into the house I fell in love with just a couple of months ago turned out to be an irresponsible liar and he evicted her. I talked to him yesterday morning and he told me that the house is mine if I still wanted to move. HELL YEAH!! So he just got possession back today and I already have a key. And I must say...THIS HOUSE IS IMMACULATE!!!! It's huge! Beautiful, newly remodeled kitchen with oak cabinets. The biggest living room I have ever seen before with all hard wood flooring!!! New windows, new roof, new furnace! It has a decent size yard for the kids and the neighborhood is full of other children and---don't laugh---but I am all excited theres a sidewalk on the street too. LOL. Three bedrooms upstairs with a nice large bathroom that has the washer and dryer hookups. Tons of closet space. There's a half bath downstairs just off the dining room, but I am honestly considering using that room for my bedroom and giving Anthony his own bedroom upstairs--he would be so THRILLED! The basement is full sized too! The one and only downfall is there's no garage. :( Which sucks. Because----hey, I don't think I ever mentioned this since I started blogging again--but I have a new(er) car. It's a 1996 sebring convertible. hee hee. So I guess I will gladly get up a half an hour early every day to warm that baby up in order to live in a house I have been dreaming of for a long time now!

This house is even much nicer than the house me and Jamie were buying. Its going to be $65 more a month than the rent I pay now, but hey, thats just working an extra shift at work every week.

It feels good to finally have something like this happen. I've been waiting and getting very impatient with all the talk about "good things will come my way". Finally, my relationship is at a perfect balance with Brad and now this!

I don't think I will get any sleep tonight--lol.

I did it, I voted

I guess it really is a time for change. I've always been anti-politics, but this election really caught my interest. I'm proud to say I voted for Obama and I am very pleased to see that most of the country did, also. My kids were even very intrigued by the news all night, as we watched the numbers for each of our local counties and the states. The boys voted at school and they too, voted Obama. Smart kids I have. LOL I was so nervous going to vote yesterday. More afraid of looking like an idiot because I didn't know for sure how it worked and I was afraid of a long line. My precinct was only about 4 or 5 blocks from my house so I just walked over so I wouldn't have to fight for a parking place. Luckily, there were only about 7 or 8 people in line ahead of me and it took me approximately 15 minutes to get signed in and cast my vote. It might sound silly, but I am feeling good about what I did. Even though, I do realize that without my one single vote, Obama would have won, regardless. It was a giant part of history though. I'm glad I did it.

I should be doing some errands and balancing some bills instead of sitting here writing, but I'm enjoying the piece and quiet in the house right now. The kids are all at school and I have about an hour before I leave for work. Somehow this coffee tastes so much better as I am sitting here enjoying it in silence. Lol. Mariah is getting school pictures today, so she was so happy to get all dressed up this morning. I gave Carson money for the book fair so he was happy as ever. And Anthony is just excited because he has wrestling practice tonight after school and his dad is actually going to pick him (and the other 2 up) and take him. It means the world to him for Jamie to be there, but this will be the first practice he actually is. I just hope he is on time and doesnt ruin this for the Anthony. I hate to see him heartbroke any more. I'm going to a spice of life party tonight, *smirk* otherwise I would be the one taking him.

I had a wonderful weekend last weekend. Friday night I took my kids trick or treating at Brad's. He lives half an hour away, so it was a new neighborhood for me and the kids. But the big deal here is that he had his girls and we all went together. And an even bigger deal to me is that I met his parents for the first time. Sounds wierd because I have been dating him for close to 2 years now and I haven't met them, until Friday. We also went back over on Sunday for a birthday party for his oldest daughter who turned 8. I took the kids to Kohls and bought her a couple of shirts and a pair of jeans--very cute outfit. I just adore this little girl, so I loved shopping for her---all except the fact that my 3 kids were with me in the store acting like maniacs the entire time. *sigh* I finally have this relationship just where I wanted it to be. We've had a rocky road, but I guess it's to be expected. We were both going thru major turning points in our lives. My divorce and he works for gm, so he was laid off for almost 2 years. I'm finally adjusted to this unmarried life and he is back to work and we all know how it makes a man feel to make money vs feeling like shit because they are collecting unemployment. This is the only relationship that I have been involved where things go at a safe pace. No rushing into things. We have built a solid ground and although I wish I met his children and parents months ago, I am feeling very secure to know that he doesn't jump the gun. I guess I have more respect for him. I believe him when he says he loves me and the fact that he is so protective of his girls, and now I am involved with them I feel he is very serious about me. And he is so good with my kids--who by the way have taken a strong liking to his girls. :) I'm all smiles these days.

Well, its getting to be that time, later.

I'll call this one "Boring"

I'm here at home, alone and bored. I'm not used to this and to be honest, I don't really like it. I guess it was okay for a few hours. I haven't worked all weekend. Yesterday I passed time away by cleaning the boys' room. And when I say cleaning, I mean hard core CLEANING. The kids are with their dad this weekend and I am sure the boys won't be too happy about their room. They collect pokemon and yugioh cards and they keep them in peculiar places in their room. Some stacks on the desk, some on the floor, some in a book, some in a shoe box and even some in their dresser drawers. I put them all in a shoe box and I am afraid I may have messed up their organized mess. lol. Oh well, it smells good in there. I even cleaned Gary's cage. (Remember him? our guinea pig. He is still alive and doing well)

Brad has his girls this weekend and he spent time with them so I was on my own. He did invite me to go to the movies with them yesterday. Of course I went. We saw Wall-e. It was a cute movie. I love his girls. They have seemed to take a liking to me already too, which makes me ecstatic. We all know the circumstances I was living when it came to Jamie and his son from his first marraige. The child was being taught to dislike and disrespect me. Aaaannnyyywayyy....

This is a fairly dull entry. I'm just babbling, trying to pass some time. Brad is on his way over here now since his kids went home. I have no idea where my kids are. Jamie's cell phone is "broke" and I was assuming he was going to drop the kids off here at home after Anthony's wresting practice, which would have been at 5:00. I haven't heard anything from him and its making me believe that, ONCE AGAIN, he didn't take Anthony to his practice. Grrr. It makes me so sad to hear Anthony cry to me that his dad won't come watch his practice (much less TAKE him). And for some reason, Anthony will express his feelings to me, but not his father. I've told him he needs to tell his dad how he feels and maybe it will open his eyes. I even gave him the option to email his dad, which he took me up on. All he said was "why don't you come to my wrestling practice?".

His dad did tell him that he would be there at practice last Sunday, and you know--he never showed. Later he emailed Anthony and said that he was in New York (with his new girlfriend) and the traffic was so bad that they got home too late. I don't get it. Suddenly its just impossible for him to make time in his busy life for the kids.

I'm not liking this new girlfriend too much. She is all that Jamie deserves in a woman, but you know that includes no morals or values..and my kids shouldn't be raised around such things. There is a lot to tell about this woman, UNBELIEVABLE things, and I am unsure of actually writing about it in my public blog here. But damn, its pretty interesting and sounds made up. lol.

I really don't have much to write about, as you've probably noticed. lol. I'm just trying to keep myself occupied til someone gets home. It's not too often I get bored like this, you'd think I enjoyed it more. ha.

Well, hope everyone is doing well. I'm going to relax on the couch for awhile.

found an extra minute

I changed my blog layout, again. Lol. I can't seem to find one I am happy with. Maybe I will stick with this one for awhile. I have just a few minutes before I have to jump in the shower for work. And I should be on the phone calling around to these oral surgeons listed in the insurance book but I feel stupid everytime I talk to someone because they don't seem to realize that I don't work in the field so when they say things like, "we aren't on the dental plan, just the medical" and I'm calling their DENTAL office because my son is needing surgery on his TEETH, I am confused about what they mean by its medical and not dental. And when I try to get someone to explain it to me, they make me feel like a moron. Of course I am not getting any answers that I need about it either. *sigh*

The kids were just put on Jamie's insurance about a month ago. Yet, another part of the court order he didnt follow thru with in the beginning. Somehow thru the divorce court, he got away with not paying for anything or doing the things we were both supposed to. I don't know how he managed to do it. And here I am, following the law by the books in fear of being in contempt. I just want to get this insurance figured out so I can get Anthony's teeth taken care of and not have to pay a zillion dollars out of my pocket. Why does it have to be so confusing???

The kids haven't seen their dad in a about 3 and half weeks and its killing them. I feel partly to blame because I kept them home from their weekend visit only because my brother was getting married and then we went to that halloween party. Oh, and that Sunday Jamie wanted to take them and I told him I was going to keep them home because Anthony had wrestling practice and the last weekend they were with Jamie, he didn't take Anthony because his other son had a football game. Poor Anthony was heartbroke over it too. So Anthony asked me Monday if his dad could come and pick them up one day after school this week like he used to. Of course he can! I never told him to NOT take them during the week, he just QUIT doing it months ago. So Anthony called his dad and asked him to pick them up Wednesday. Jamie said yea...and they talked on the phone for awhile. When he hung up, I asked him...."Anthony, if you want to see your dad so badly, why did you ask him about picking you up on Wednesday and not tomorrow" Anthony says, "well tomorrow I have a math test and its going to be a bad day for me so Wednesday is better". Lmao. He cracks me up.

Poor kid. We studied together for almost an hour Monday evening for that math test too. He was so wigged out about it, he couldnt go to sleep that night. He's not doing that great in the subject, and I am not that great either. And has anyone here tried working on 4th grade math? YIKES.

how you feeling? Hot Hot Hot

My brother got married last week and I took the kids to the reception. They had a blast. I recorded Mariah dancing and it cracks me up every time I watch it! At the end she got a little thrown off by the lady who approached her about taking a picture. But she was quite entertaining, obviously. lol

Thru the video you can see my neices Samantha and Navada. Carson is in there too. Anthony is the one who keeps dancing past the camara like Michigan J. Frog of Looney Tunes. Lol. (such a jokester)

costume pictures

My friends Kelly and Eric had a Halloween party last Saturday so I took the boys shopping to pick out their costumes and we started our season a lil early this year.

I had Mariah's costume weeks before. I got it off of ebay for 25 bucks. She was so dang cute!!

Aren't you all surprised that Carson didn't want to be Spiderman this year?! This is the first time in 3 years that he actually picked out a different costume! lol

And Anthony knew what he wanted to be for weeks. I don't know why he insisted on the Scream costume. I thought I would have to get it at a thrift store, figuring it was outdated. But it wasn't. And of course, he had to have the mask that "bleeds". Gross.


We all had a really good time. There were so many people there. Lots of food, a bon fire at the end of the night with hot dogs and smores. The weather was beautiful. It couldn't have been a nicer day. They had a pinata for the kids. And tons of candy. And we all went on a hayride, too.

Can you find me? The giant drinking the pepsi right next to me is Brad. Lol If you look hard enough, I bet you can see Mariah and the boys too. Brad's girls are sitting on both sides of Mariah.

I'm really thankful that my friend Kelly invited us to her party. She does it every year and each and every previous year SOMETHING else was going on and I wasn't able to make it. Either I was scheduled to work, going thru a divorce or Jamie had the kids.

That was one of the funnest days I've had in a long time. It was so nice to spend the day with the kids. And as I had mentioned before, it was meaningful too with Brad's girls spending the day with us.