Learning

I have to learn more about blogging.. my blog won't let me comment on my own post.. how weird is that?? But for the fun of it.. here is a new pic of Zack.. the Little Prince!

My Baby Boy

Isn't he the cutest thing ever??  And my daughter is so pretty.. she is such a good Mommy.  I can't wait to go see them again and get some big hugs.. hold that baby!  In this picture he is getting ready for his bath.. Can you believe he's not even 3 months old???

My Daily Schedule

I titled this my daily schedule.. like I have one!  In a way I do.. I used to be very organized and almost down to the minute of what I would be doing each day when my 3 were small.. In 1978, I was pregnant with my first child.. I took a class put on by the Sidetracked Home Executives.. Pam and Peggy.. They taught a file card system and I lived by that for years.. It helped me with having my girls just a year apart in age.  I had to have a routine.  As our family grew I continued with the routines and plans.. then when I started working it kind of fell by the wayside.. plus someone knocked my cardfile in the sink by accident and I just never got it together again..

Years and years later I needed to move from my house.. I found Flylady.. she is connected with Pam and Peggy.. doesn't use the card file but has ideas of how to do things from their plan.  It's all about routines, keeping up with things and decluttering a few minutes a day.. I find it to be incredible.. I am a timer cleaner.. Since some days I don't feel well, timer cleaning is a must for me.  I just pick the most important thing and work on that.  Sometimes it's just dinner and some laundry.. other days if I'm feeling ok it's more.. I like to have a clean house, laundry done and good dinners on the table.. if I can do that I'm happy and so is everyone else..

I wake up around 6:30 or so.. the person upstairs is my alarm clock.. she is leaving for work and stomps around her kitchen in high heels and it wakes me up.. I might have slept longer except for that..Peter's alarm goes off on 5:30.. so that wakes me up and I often can go back to sleep until Sunshine, as I call her, wakes me up again.

I get tea for myself and my husband.. then settle in on the computer.. check out email, FB and blogs.. later I will get things out for dinner that don't have to be in the fridge.. or thaw what's needed.. then I do the timer cleaning.. I do have certain rooms to work on each day so I focus on that.. and just do the routine stuff.. like empying the dishwasher, a load of laundry, sweeping, vacuuming etc.. I will usually take a shower later after the house cleaning and dog walking.

Max is back at school now.. so the afternoon schedule changes a bit.. I have made a goal to make him a snack and have it waiting for him when he comes in.. He is usually starving and we have stopped buying frozen junk food.. so I am committed to making something for him each day.. it's a way of loving him.

Max does homework downstairs until about 5 so at that time when he is finished I go down and start dinner.. put something on the TV.. I go back and forth from the TV and kitchen to cook.. put the TV on pause.. works for me.. Petey comes home 6:30ish.. and we eat at 7.. If he is late I will just give Max his dinner at 7 so he can get his shower and then to bed by 9 or so.. We are usually in bed by 9 also.. Peter is up by 5:30.. so we need our sleep.

I cook.. the guys clean up.. Peter takes the dog out just before bed and then we are done.. I guess it's not that much of a schedule but that's what I do each day.. of course it does change if there are appointments but that's the normal day.

Yesterday.. not too good!

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday.. of course I couldn't be there since she lives far away but I wanted to have a happy day.. for some reason I was so sick.. I had to take Max to 3 appointments and I don't really think that had anything to do with it.. Not sure if it's my regular "sick" or I had a bug.  Feeling better today but still queasy. 

I did get to talk to the girls and they were having a great day..  They did some shopping, had a pedi and Danny was going to make dinner for them.. so sounds like a fun birthday.

Doing timer cleaning because my Mom will be arriving tomorrow to visit.  Things should be in pretty good shape at least in her room and bath and the main living area and kitchen.  I've never driven to the airport here.. so that should be a trip!  I get nervous driving places I've never been and especially if it's far away.  I've gotten lost here a few times even though I have a GPS.. the lady told me the wrong way to go.. so my husband will check it out for me tonight to make sure I have the correct directions.  Looking forward to my Mom visiting and then we will go see the Little Prince.. then out to the west coast to see the other kids and get my Mom to my cousins house.

This 'N' That

I can't believe it's time for school to start.. In some ways summer seemed long but then in other ways it just flew by.  Shelby goes back to college this weekend.. Max starts school on September 6th.  He usually starts earlier but they are doing construction at his school and have delayed the opening.. which will mean he will go longer into the summer. 

I've made a big decision this past week or so.  I have decided to stop communicating with the boys' mom.  I have been raising them ever since we married 10 years ago.  We have had full custody for 9 years.  I say I was raising them even that first year when there was joint custody because I had them more than anyone.  We had them every weekend and two other nights a week.. meaning their mom had them 2 evenings and of course in the mornings to get them off to school.. on her days off when she could have them she kept them in day care because she was "busy."  If there was a day off, school vacations including summer or if one was sick I had them.. A couple of times I was called by the school to pick up Max because he was sent to school sick.. the people in the office gave me the dirtiest of looks so makes me wonder what was said to them about me.. they probably thought I sent him to school that way.. If they were sick or they had routine stuff I took them to those appointments.  I took them to all their sports practices during the week.

My husband and his ex do not get along at all.  Have trouble communicating.  In the past several years I've tried to keep the peace by emailing her..letting her know about day to day things and what the boys were doing.. I used to send her school papers and pictures.. even pictures that I had taken.. (we live 2500 miles apart)  Things go ok for a while and she is nice but then for whatever reason she starts getting nasty.  She might be nice in her emails to me for the most part but bad mouths me to the boys.. tells them to disobey and ignore me.. treat me like the maid.. I can tell when things are going downhill when she stars badmouthing my husband to me in her emails.. this has gone on for years and I've called her on it and she will be nice again.  It started up again recently when the boys had consequences for something.. she didn't like it and said awful things to the boys.  I emailed and told her if she was going to do that I was done.. and I am.  I always was in touch with her to protect the boys from having to hear a bunch of garbage and lies from her about us.. they are old enough to figure it out.

They have both been told they can go live with her and they say they don't want to.. I told her the same and she says they shouldn't come because they love sports too much and we are in a sports town.. also her boyfriend who she lives with would be too tough on them.. and make them do chores!! How horrible! Whatever.. She has been calling and emailing me for days and I just haven't answered.  I told her I was done.. and you know it feels so much better to be out of it..  maybe I won't feel sick every day of my life with this stress gone.

Max and Shelby

The parking lots where we live are being worked on.. it changes daily especially because we have had rain.  I have to try to figure out where to park my car constantly.  They sent out notices if cars are parked in the wrong area they will be towed.. Yikes!

On a happier note, my Mom is coming to visit.. will be able to stay a while and then go down to visit the little prince.. who, by the way, gets cuter every day.  Then hopefully I will fly with my Mom back to the west coast.. we can visit my other two kids there who I haven't seen in a year.. and then she will fly to visit my cousin and then back to her Hawaiian home.  I know she is homesick so she will be glad to get back.

  

The Little Prince!

Lastly.. A big shout out to my son and his beautiful wife.  Happy One Year Anniversary!

How would you feel

Just wondering.. how anyone would feel if they saw on Facebook that their elderly mother almost choked to death?  My mother is staying with my brother and his wife.. and frankly they have not been that nice to her in the past.. whole other story.. their 27 year old son came over and brought a sandwich to split with Nana.. she choked and he had to heimlich her 5 times until it was over.. I got to read on Facebook last night what a hero he was and saved his "nanny" (her name is Nana.. not nanny).. which is great.. I'm glad he was there and could help her.. I'm sure it was traumatic for both of them.. I emailed my SIL and said I was shocked to read about this and maybe it would have been something to share privately with family before posting.. she made one rude comment back and then nothing.. I think she would feel differently if it was her mother..

Dancing with the Bears

Look how much he's grown!!  He had his 2 months check up.. he's 14.1 lbs and 24 inches long.. 90th percentile for both height and weight.. what a sweetie!!