My children and I are sick AGAIN. LOL We picked this one up, more than likely in the doctors office for a well child visit. It's always a great time in the waiting room...children running around slapping their germs on the toys in the office, and on one another... LOL They are so cool. Although, I'm sure if they realized they were "sharing", there would never be another sick child. hahaha ;)
However, my children are all snotty noses, coughs, and fevers (well no fever today) and they are running around playing like mad! LOL I feel like I'm going to fall asleep, and they are just wild and crazy. I want some of that energy! :D I love to watch them play together. They have such a great time banging eachother upside the head with Diego or fighting over the playhouse. It's absolutely amazing to me. If you saw them from afar, you wouldn't know there was a thing wrong. "S" is SO ready to go back to school.
So even though germs plague our home, the wildness lives on. :) It's all good. :)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Grrrr....
I have to say, that as grateful I am for my husband, I despise his family. Mainly because they are manipulative, hateful, self-serving, judgemental and not at all trustworthy. They create problems, and lie about them constantly. (Oh *I* never said THAT!!!) Umm..yeah, and other people heard it too B**ch.
I'm sure some of you who happen to read this have no clue what in law problems are like and for that you are very blessed.
All in all, I have basically cut out my brother in law, and his skank wife out of my life. If my husband wants to talk to them, fine, he's a grown up. They are alcoholics who use people for whatever they can get. If they don't have money for all of their bills, or even food, they will buy beer, regardless. In fact, during one visit, the Skank says "It's sad how we don't have money for bills or whatever, but when it comes to beer, I don't care, and we buy it anyway". OH, and another time BIL was visiting because she took off to another state, and his vehicle broke down. He begged her to come and get him as it was on her way back home and she was like "Well, I haven't gone shopping with (unimportant name here) yet, and she is depending on me so NO I will not come and get you"....OH this is also the same visit where she also spent all of the money on beer for her trouble making brother where her husband couldn't even afford to get HIS vehicle fixed up like they agreed on. He was like "WHAT happened to the money that was in the account?!?!?!?!" So, again, we wound up out of pocket (this was not the first time we've bailed them out....) because they didn't have any money, and my husband is a sucker and a half. (Yes, that is S-A-R-C-A-S-M. Do I believe my husband is a sucker? Noooo...)
I used to try to get along with his family, for him. Had them in my home, they treated me like shit, in front of him. He didn't care about my feelings, of course, even when I was pregnant. I was very very angry about it, but I understand that he grew up with that behavior and it was all he knew and expected from his family. It was all about his family, and NOT his wife and children. Anyway.... I'm not going into whatever diatribe of the things I did to try to feel like a part of my husbands family, but I won't be doing it anymore. Of course, this is the same "family" that didn't do a damn thing for him while he was deployed the first time, and that didn't do a damn thing for his family except try to cause problems between him and his wife. That in itself is a pretty long story.
Anyway, all in all....had I known the full truth of his family, I would have never married him.
As much as I love him....which is quite a lot. ;)
I'm sure some of you who happen to read this have no clue what in law problems are like and for that you are very blessed.
All in all, I have basically cut out my brother in law, and his skank wife out of my life. If my husband wants to talk to them, fine, he's a grown up. They are alcoholics who use people for whatever they can get. If they don't have money for all of their bills, or even food, they will buy beer, regardless. In fact, during one visit, the Skank says "It's sad how we don't have money for bills or whatever, but when it comes to beer, I don't care, and we buy it anyway". OH, and another time BIL was visiting because she took off to another state, and his vehicle broke down. He begged her to come and get him as it was on her way back home and she was like "Well, I haven't gone shopping with (unimportant name here) yet, and she is depending on me so NO I will not come and get you"....OH this is also the same visit where she also spent all of the money on beer for her trouble making brother where her husband couldn't even afford to get HIS vehicle fixed up like they agreed on. He was like "WHAT happened to the money that was in the account?!?!?!?!" So, again, we wound up out of pocket (this was not the first time we've bailed them out....) because they didn't have any money, and my husband is a sucker and a half. (Yes, that is S-A-R-C-A-S-M. Do I believe my husband is a sucker? Noooo...)
I used to try to get along with his family, for him. Had them in my home, they treated me like shit, in front of him. He didn't care about my feelings, of course, even when I was pregnant. I was very very angry about it, but I understand that he grew up with that behavior and it was all he knew and expected from his family. It was all about his family, and NOT his wife and children. Anyway.... I'm not going into whatever diatribe of the things I did to try to feel like a part of my husbands family, but I won't be doing it anymore. Of course, this is the same "family" that didn't do a damn thing for him while he was deployed the first time, and that didn't do a damn thing for his family except try to cause problems between him and his wife. That in itself is a pretty long story.
Anyway, all in all....had I known the full truth of his family, I would have never married him.
As much as I love him....which is quite a lot. ;)
Friday, September 14, 2007
Da' Beesh!
I took my children to the beach today, and we were treated to a lovely site on our "adventure" today at the beach. A storm was coming in and it was just amazing. We played in the water, and just had a blast before the storm "got us". "S" absolutely loved water. He would have jumped in wholeheartedly and was absolutely unafraid of the waves. I had to hold his hand the entire time because they were pretty strong. He was fascinated by the sea gulls, but at the same time was quite afraid of them. He gave them a wide berth, even in the parking lot of the fancy restaurant the kids chose. (Burger King) LOL I told him they would leave him alone if he gave them his french fries. He said no. He even took a picture of his friends, the scary sea gulls. I am going to crop it and print it out so he can carry it with him to show at school.
"M" was SO excited, but didn't know what to think of the sand in her diaper, and she really was unsure of walking in it. She got used to it, but had to stay with me because the waves were way too strong. So I was holding ones hand, and the other was attached to my hip like a creeper. LOL She LOVED playing in the sand though. Now that was rock and roll to her. She also liked poking her brother with a green shovel...but whatever. He deserved it as mean as he was to her on the ride down. LOL God I love those kids. I am SO blessed to have them and my wonderful husband.
Anyway, no bitter coffee today. Heard from my husband and life is good for yet another 24 hours.
And yes, I took that awesome picture today! :D
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Change is in the air....
I woke up this morning, and felt the beginning of falls arrival to our little area of the world. It's a beautiful feeling to me, because in my fantasy world, it's always winter. LOL I truly dislike the heat, and love cold. I would rather be freezing my buns off than hot. I dislike sweating in the most awful way. Unless I'm exercising, which, I might add, is NOT often enough. But I digress..
This is the best time of year for me, I wilt horridly in the summers here, but I live for the cooler months. If I did not have children, I would be outside CONSTANTLY in the "winter". I'm one that would barbecue in the snow. LOL Unfortunately for me...well...we don't get any snow. We had a few flurries about 7 years ago...but nothing sense. Our winters have been...fall. I can't wait to move north.
My husband and I had a chance to move up to the place he is stationed, and we didn't. Much to my disappointment. The realtor took it upon herself to only show us the brand new homes that were ridiculously priced, rather than the nice, older-more affordable homes for our family. Plus my husband is a snob who thinks we should constantly "keep up with the Jones's)....She thought she would make some serious money off of them av-i-ators. ;) NOT! Needless to say, I regret that decision horribly. We should have done more research on our own. Unfortunately, we thought the heiffer was working "FOR" us, not just for herself. The funny thing is, none of the big expensive houses are selling, because nobody in the area can truly afford the "new" stuff.
So basically right after my husband got off his first year long deployment, he came home for a couple of months to a class that took up a lot of his time, and his good temper. Then he moved to the other state, over 1000 miles away. We saw eachother a couple of weekends, and about 2 weeks before he left for Iraq. Something about this life just isn't right. The hardest part is feeling as though nobody appreciates the sacrifice. My kids have not really had their father for over a year, and soon to be 3 if the actual 15 month deployment happens. I have not had my husband.
I don't expect to hear people going "OHHH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU." I don't mean that in the least.. I mean, you pretty much can tell an army spouse with a deployed husband/wife. 1. Don't be such an asshole and make faces or huffy noises when our kids are acting out in a store. We can't move any faster, and they've gone through much more than you can ever understand already. 2. Don't give nasty looks when we are disorganized and can't get things together if we're in the same line as you. You can politely move to another line if it's a problem. You don't have to make it more difficult. 3. Don't look at us like we're crazy when we're red/glassy-eyed from crying because we HAD to go to an appointment/get medicine for the kids/go to the hardware store WHATEVER and missed the call we have been waiting for for a week or more - knowing he might not get another one for God knows how long. 4. Don't talk loud or mock the television when you are somewhere public with a news station on and you hear "Alert"...it could be my husband they're talking about. Have some respect. 5. And by all means, DO NOT EVER say anything disrespectful or mocking toward our soldiers. ANY soldier. That my friend, if said in my vicinity, will get your ass chewed publicly. And possibly kicked depending on my mood and whether my children are around.
You would think more people would have respect, and at least care a little. These guys/gals are making the ultimate sacrifice. Regardless whether you believe in this "war" or not (and I don't.)...you still have to support our troops who are just doing their jobs....and possibly laying their lives down for YOU. You may not believe it has anything to do with us, but that soldier is trained to defend the United States of America. Regardless of his or her mission, it's about US. Not some other country. They are there for US. Even if it wasn't George Bush's true meaning...even though the war has nothing to do with us personally. Do you think they WANT to be there, rather than home with their own families? Do you think they truly want to put their lives in danger? NO. The SOLDIERS are there for ALL of US. And you damn well better respect them. And their families.
You can help bring them all home by writing your congressmen, even congressmen who are not in your area, the white house, everywhere. Just keep writing. Bush's "war" has gone on too long and our soldiers have suffered enough.
If you are reading this, and are able to go home to your family every night: When you put your kids to bed, teach them to pray for our brave soldiers and their families.
If you are reading this and have a deployed spouse, or ARE a deployed soldier: God bless you. You are in my prayers. And Thank You.
Sorry this is a bit disorganized...it started out to be something else, and my heart just came pouring out of my fingertips. LOL
This is the best time of year for me, I wilt horridly in the summers here, but I live for the cooler months. If I did not have children, I would be outside CONSTANTLY in the "winter". I'm one that would barbecue in the snow. LOL Unfortunately for me...well...we don't get any snow. We had a few flurries about 7 years ago...but nothing sense. Our winters have been...fall. I can't wait to move north.
My husband and I had a chance to move up to the place he is stationed, and we didn't. Much to my disappointment. The realtor took it upon herself to only show us the brand new homes that were ridiculously priced, rather than the nice, older-more affordable homes for our family. Plus my husband is a snob who thinks we should constantly "keep up with the Jones's)....She thought she would make some serious money off of them av-i-ators. ;) NOT! Needless to say, I regret that decision horribly. We should have done more research on our own. Unfortunately, we thought the heiffer was working "FOR" us, not just for herself. The funny thing is, none of the big expensive houses are selling, because nobody in the area can truly afford the "new" stuff.
So basically right after my husband got off his first year long deployment, he came home for a couple of months to a class that took up a lot of his time, and his good temper. Then he moved to the other state, over 1000 miles away. We saw eachother a couple of weekends, and about 2 weeks before he left for Iraq. Something about this life just isn't right. The hardest part is feeling as though nobody appreciates the sacrifice. My kids have not really had their father for over a year, and soon to be 3 if the actual 15 month deployment happens. I have not had my husband.
I don't expect to hear people going "OHHH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU." I don't mean that in the least.. I mean, you pretty much can tell an army spouse with a deployed husband/wife. 1. Don't be such an asshole and make faces or huffy noises when our kids are acting out in a store. We can't move any faster, and they've gone through much more than you can ever understand already. 2. Don't give nasty looks when we are disorganized and can't get things together if we're in the same line as you. You can politely move to another line if it's a problem. You don't have to make it more difficult. 3. Don't look at us like we're crazy when we're red/glassy-eyed from crying because we HAD to go to an appointment/get medicine for the kids/go to the hardware store WHATEVER and missed the call we have been waiting for for a week or more - knowing he might not get another one for God knows how long. 4. Don't talk loud or mock the television when you are somewhere public with a news station on and you hear "Alert"...it could be my husband they're talking about. Have some respect. 5. And by all means, DO NOT EVER say anything disrespectful or mocking toward our soldiers. ANY soldier. That my friend, if said in my vicinity, will get your ass chewed publicly. And possibly kicked depending on my mood and whether my children are around.
You would think more people would have respect, and at least care a little. These guys/gals are making the ultimate sacrifice. Regardless whether you believe in this "war" or not (and I don't.)...you still have to support our troops who are just doing their jobs....and possibly laying their lives down for YOU. You may not believe it has anything to do with us, but that soldier is trained to defend the United States of America. Regardless of his or her mission, it's about US. Not some other country. They are there for US. Even if it wasn't George Bush's true meaning...even though the war has nothing to do with us personally. Do you think they WANT to be there, rather than home with their own families? Do you think they truly want to put their lives in danger? NO. The SOLDIERS are there for ALL of US. And you damn well better respect them. And their families.
You can help bring them all home by writing your congressmen, even congressmen who are not in your area, the white house, everywhere. Just keep writing. Bush's "war" has gone on too long and our soldiers have suffered enough.
If you are reading this, and are able to go home to your family every night: When you put your kids to bed, teach them to pray for our brave soldiers and their families.
If you are reading this and have a deployed spouse, or ARE a deployed soldier: God bless you. You are in my prayers. And Thank You.
Sorry this is a bit disorganized...it started out to be something else, and my heart just came pouring out of my fingertips. LOL
Friday, September 7, 2007
Why "Bitter Coffee Blogs"?
As busy as life is with a husband who is gone on deployment, I always make a nice pot of coffee in the morning, because I NEED IT!!! However, by the time the kids, the dogs, and everything else is taken care of...the coffee I have poured myself has gone cold, and bitter. I don't like cold coffee and re-heating it just makes it more disgusting.
Basically the name fits my life in many many ways.
Do not get me wrong, I know I am incredibly blessed to have a husband that is everything to me, and that I know loves me beyond anything he has ever known...and of course to have our amazing children. We all have our issues, and may not be perfect, but our family is one full of love. Corny, I know. Now if I could just get my husband back...
Basically the name fits my life in many many ways.
Do not get me wrong, I know I am incredibly blessed to have a husband that is everything to me, and that I know loves me beyond anything he has ever known...and of course to have our amazing children. We all have our issues, and may not be perfect, but our family is one full of love. Corny, I know. Now if I could just get my husband back...
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
What a beginning of a blog!!!
The bitterness of the day? Well more like week.
My son is 3, soon to be 4 years old. He has never been in daycare, as I quit my career to be a stay at home mom when he was born. It was a very hard decision for me, as I loved my work. My family had to come first, and it does. Even with a 2 year old and an almost 4 year old and no husband around...at least most of the time! ;)
Our son, S., began pre-school at a local church the middle of august. He had never been in school or even a real daycare before. We explained before he started that we had to go to another state to see Daddy off to Iraq and he would miss almost 2 weeks of school. That was fine. We also explained that he might have some issues due to losing his Daddy yet AGAIN in such a short period of time. So he went the first week, with no problems. Nothing. We are the kind of parents that want to know how his day was. We want the teachers to talk to us and always attempt to open up "how was S.'s day? Anything happen?" Nothing.
Fast forward, and we had been in a hotel for close to 2 weeks and my husband was gone. We drove 17 hours straight through just to get back home. I couldn't stay there without him...and neither could the kids. They wanted their Daddy. We spent the first day home relaxing, catching up on sleep, dealing with our sadness and how much we miss Daddy.
The second day back, I take S. back to school. He is doing better than I imagined he would. I thought the routine of going back into school would help him. He has no serious behavior problems and when he walked in, his class said "Hi S.!! We missed you!!!" He had a nice day, and as we were walking out, the director says she wants to set up a meeting with me to determine if this is the right "grade" for my son. IT'S PRE-SCHOOL! It didn't sound good and I stewed on it for awhile...
I called her when we got home, as it continued to weigh on my mind. She tells me that she decided to "observe" my son because she and the teachers didn't think he was "on-task" enough. HE IS 3!!! IT IS PRE-SCHOOL! So she supposedly sat and watched while they were doing activities in class, his first day back, and only his 5th day of school in 3 weeks (Well, ever, really). She said he was only on task half the time, but she really couldn't tell if he was paying attention when he wasn't looking directly at the teacher...etc. THEN she tells me that I need to have him TESTED because she saw him walk on his tiptoes. Umm...he's 3 and when he is happy and playing he bounces on his toes. So she tried to tell me that he needs to be tested because that's a sign of "some sensory disorder".
That's when I had the nearly hysterical "let me give this woman a quick realization" moment. Who can guess what my job was before she was a Mommy??? 20 points to the person who says "Mental Health Therapist". Yes, that's correct. Mrs. Bitter has quite a few credentials too. This should be fun.
So I told her under no uncertain terms that I am most definately not in denial of my childs development stage or his academic (IT IS PRE-SCHOOL!! PLEASE!!) prowess. He's intelligent, can count in English and Spanish, he loves to play, can be hyper (duh..), sings complete songs, does the alphabet, and he's sometimes stubborn LIKE A NORMAL 3 YEAR OLD.
It sounds to me as though these teachers are not wanting to teach children who have not been in daycare their whole lives. Nothing she described to me was any type of serious "marker" for trouble in school where he would be taking away from anyone else. He has the willingness to learn, and he wants to be there. I'm so angry. She said "Oh, well everything you have said kind of puts things in a different light" DUH STUPID!!! He's never been in school and doesn't know how it all works.
SO we are supposed to meet with her this week when we get over our flu to discuss her "findings". Which are baseless, considering what she did was so far out of the realm of good judgement it's ridiculous.
I just feel like she slapped a label on him and put him in this little box, and nobody in that "school" is going to see anything else. It was a VERY poor and premature judgement, especially considering he is not a behavior problem and he doesn't have outbursts in school. Not to mention the factors I laid out above.
Whether or not he stays in that school...I don't know. I don't know that I can trust them to make good judgements based on my child..or anyone elses. Especially when the director acted in a very poor manner relating to the timing of her "test" on S.
I'll let you know.
OK...Update, and I should have updated on this before now. Spoke with the director and she said she did not realize that he had never been in school before and appreciates that I let her know so they could work with him on the areas he doesn't understand. Needless to say I felt much better about the school and her concern for my child after we spoke. So school is still a good thing and S. is still in his same class. :) As for the tiptoe thing...she admitted that was a bit off base. LOL I feel as if me and Mrs. N. have a better relationship because of this. Especially since I didn't create a big bitchy scene with her. I listened to her point of view, and responded with my point of view, and it was a good exchange. Always fight for your child. Always. Sometimes it's going to be harder than others, but it's always worth it.
My son is 3, soon to be 4 years old. He has never been in daycare, as I quit my career to be a stay at home mom when he was born. It was a very hard decision for me, as I loved my work. My family had to come first, and it does. Even with a 2 year old and an almost 4 year old and no husband around...at least most of the time! ;)
Our son, S., began pre-school at a local church the middle of august. He had never been in school or even a real daycare before. We explained before he started that we had to go to another state to see Daddy off to Iraq and he would miss almost 2 weeks of school. That was fine. We also explained that he might have some issues due to losing his Daddy yet AGAIN in such a short period of time. So he went the first week, with no problems. Nothing. We are the kind of parents that want to know how his day was. We want the teachers to talk to us and always attempt to open up "how was S.'s day? Anything happen?" Nothing.
Fast forward, and we had been in a hotel for close to 2 weeks and my husband was gone. We drove 17 hours straight through just to get back home. I couldn't stay there without him...and neither could the kids. They wanted their Daddy. We spent the first day home relaxing, catching up on sleep, dealing with our sadness and how much we miss Daddy.
The second day back, I take S. back to school. He is doing better than I imagined he would. I thought the routine of going back into school would help him. He has no serious behavior problems and when he walked in, his class said "Hi S.!! We missed you!!!" He had a nice day, and as we were walking out, the director says she wants to set up a meeting with me to determine if this is the right "grade" for my son. IT'S PRE-SCHOOL! It didn't sound good and I stewed on it for awhile...
I called her when we got home, as it continued to weigh on my mind. She tells me that she decided to "observe" my son because she and the teachers didn't think he was "on-task" enough. HE IS 3!!! IT IS PRE-SCHOOL! So she supposedly sat and watched while they were doing activities in class, his first day back, and only his 5th day of school in 3 weeks (Well, ever, really). She said he was only on task half the time, but she really couldn't tell if he was paying attention when he wasn't looking directly at the teacher...etc. THEN she tells me that I need to have him TESTED because she saw him walk on his tiptoes. Umm...he's 3 and when he is happy and playing he bounces on his toes. So she tried to tell me that he needs to be tested because that's a sign of "some sensory disorder".
That's when I had the nearly hysterical "let me give this woman a quick realization" moment. Who can guess what my job was before she was a Mommy??? 20 points to the person who says "Mental Health Therapist". Yes, that's correct. Mrs. Bitter has quite a few credentials too. This should be fun.
So I told her under no uncertain terms that I am most definately not in denial of my childs development stage or his academic (IT IS PRE-SCHOOL!! PLEASE!!) prowess. He's intelligent, can count in English and Spanish, he loves to play, can be hyper (duh..), sings complete songs, does the alphabet, and he's sometimes stubborn LIKE A NORMAL 3 YEAR OLD.
It sounds to me as though these teachers are not wanting to teach children who have not been in daycare their whole lives. Nothing she described to me was any type of serious "marker" for trouble in school where he would be taking away from anyone else. He has the willingness to learn, and he wants to be there. I'm so angry. She said "Oh, well everything you have said kind of puts things in a different light" DUH STUPID!!! He's never been in school and doesn't know how it all works.
SO we are supposed to meet with her this week when we get over our flu to discuss her "findings". Which are baseless, considering what she did was so far out of the realm of good judgement it's ridiculous.
I just feel like she slapped a label on him and put him in this little box, and nobody in that "school" is going to see anything else. It was a VERY poor and premature judgement, especially considering he is not a behavior problem and he doesn't have outbursts in school. Not to mention the factors I laid out above.
Whether or not he stays in that school...I don't know. I don't know that I can trust them to make good judgements based on my child..or anyone elses. Especially when the director acted in a very poor manner relating to the timing of her "test" on S.
I'll let you know.
OK...Update, and I should have updated on this before now. Spoke with the director and she said she did not realize that he had never been in school before and appreciates that I let her know so they could work with him on the areas he doesn't understand. Needless to say I felt much better about the school and her concern for my child after we spoke. So school is still a good thing and S. is still in his same class. :) As for the tiptoe thing...she admitted that was a bit off base. LOL I feel as if me and Mrs. N. have a better relationship because of this. Especially since I didn't create a big bitchy scene with her. I listened to her point of view, and responded with my point of view, and it was a good exchange. Always fight for your child. Always. Sometimes it's going to be harder than others, but it's always worth it.
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