kristyk

He's walking!

Well, walking is an overstatement... but Echo took four steps today. Unassisted and with great purpose. He was about three feet away from me and I was calling him. He started to crawl to me and then stopped, turned around and crawled to the couch. He stood up and walked to me with no hesitation. I was shocked! It was completely unexpected. I tried to get him to repeat it, but he was more interested in grabbing my face. I wonder why... maybe the screaming and laughing fit I was having?

Tooth Fairy

I felt horrible this morning! The day they left for their mom's house, Mica's tooth fell out. The next day, one of Mikal's teeth came out. When I picked them up to come home (ten days later), they both came running out with little baggies. Our conversation yesterday:

Mica: The tooth fairy didn't come.
Mikal: The tooth fairy didn't come for me either.
Mica: That's cuz Mom didn't have any money.
Mikal: Don't be stupid, Mica. The tooth fairy leaves the money, not Mom.
Mica: Ok, so why didn't she come then?
Mikal: Maybe she came and Mom just stole our money.
Mica: Then why are our teeth still here?

Last night, another one of Mica's teeth fell out. I totally forgot, until they started crying this morning. In a last ditch effort to save the day, I put envelopes with their names, a note and money in the van on their seats. When we loaded up this morning, you could have heard their screams of delight a block away...

PhotoTime Tuesday: Pathways

the pathway to my neighbor's house

I took this picture the evening of the storm (right after the rainbow picture).

Monday Walkabout

via GENUINE.

I'm late, too! But better late than never...

Que Sera Sera

Only two entries on the main page, and I was too tired to click on the archives. The first, a story about her love of reading and an unfortunate accident from above, made me laugh. The second was a link to pictures of her birthday party. Being the nosy person I am, I wasn't too tired to click on the picture link!

A Girl Named Bob

I want a cute blog like this! After a slight twinge of jealousy, I read about her mom's trip to Alaska (Hey, I used to live there!), gambling, movies and other fun stuff. It was an easy read and she seems to have a good sense of humor.

Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Mir is recovering from surgery. In addition to hospital and recovery stories are some really precious kid stories. My favorite was this quote: "I am not being fresh. I'm being mouthy."

Journalicious

She is from Canada and is married to The Rubber Chicken Guy, who got a new tattoo causing him to leave the straightjacket escape out of his show. Curious?

And finally,

The Blue Sloth

A stay at home dad, his blog is a mix of his attempts to get published and his adventures with his family. I had no idea how much work goes into it ~ letters, synopsis, etc. I feel like such an underachiever! I absolutely loved the quote on his main page, so I am going to copy it here:

A Man should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently and die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. --Robert Heinlein

Readjustment period

I forget how quickly things change when the girls aren't with us. They leave here one way and return completely different. This time, I refuse to let myself over react to the little things. I know in my head why their behavior deteriorates, but it still bothers me... It is the little things that I find hard to deal with. Overall, I would say I am an easygoing mom. I let the kids have a lot of freedom in what they do. But, when I do say something I expect results.

Today, I needed to make a work related phone call. Mia and Bleu weren't home, so I told Mica to be in charge of the kids for a few minutes. It was specific. They were to stay in the living room, keep the door locked, stay as quiet as possible and watch tv for the five minutes I would be on the phone. As I was explaining the work schedule for a client, Johnny came in screaming. And screaming. Finally, I had to put the client on hold and return him to the living room. Mica was laying there blowing bubbles with her gum. I asked her to please take care of Johnny because I had someone on hold. She rolled her eyes and said 'I'm watching a movie.'

An hour or so later, she was still on the couch. I needed to take a microwave to a neighbor who wanted to borrow it. We live on a very busy street, so I asked Mica to please watch the little ones while I took it next door. As I put it down on the woman's table, she asked me if those were my kids. Butterfly and Johnny were running in the middle of the street. As soon as they saw me, they ran over to me. When I got back to the house, Mica was still sitting there watching the movie and playing with her gum. I told her the kids were outside and asked what happened? She shrugged her shoulders and asked me to move out of her way.

My blood was boiling, but I didn't say anything. If one of my kids acted like that, they would be in a lot of trouble. When Mia and Bleu came home, I said that we were going to work for a few minutes. Mica said 'I'm outta here," and took off for her room. She didn't come out til the work was done. Mia and Bleu cleaned out the van, threw all the trash, cleaned Bleu's room and straightened the living room. Not once did either one of them complain or talk back.

I don't know how to handle this... I don't like talking to Mike about it because I feel like he thinks I don't want the girls here. That is absolutely not true. I love them to death, and I know that they are doing what they learn at their mom's house. If the stress of dealing with her is hard on me, I can't imagine what it is like for them... I want to cut them a little slack, but I don't like being disrespected or ignored.

I guess I will give it a couple days and then try reinforcing the positive behavior. Hopefully they will get back in the groove. Kids are pretty good at figuring out what is expected of them and adapting to their environment. I feel better already. :-)

They're back...

The girls came home from their six week summer vacation today... They lasted a total of 10 days. Longer than I thought. Sunday night, Mica called and told us that their mom would be taking them to recreation every day. Monday I was on my way home from dropping my kids off when I saw them (Julie, Mica and Mikal) at the bus stop. The girls were flagging me down, so I stopped. I assumed that she was taking them to rec. Mica said no ~ that she wanted to spend the day at the University to talk on the computers. I told them that I would give them a ride. Mica wanted to go, but Mikal didn't. I was cringing watching them with her. She was screaming at them. Mica had a trial sized lotion in her purse and Julie wanted it. She was throwing a fit like a child, yelling and stomping her feet. Both of the girls looked so embarrassed. After recreation was over, I took Mica home and her mom wasn't there. No message, no call to let us know what to do with her. We didn't hear from her until 7 pm. She can't handle the girls... I picked them up this morning and I guess they will be staying with us again.

Mica was so upset with her mom. She is old enough to understand some of the things that go on and she is angry. She was mat at her mom for the things she was doing and she was mad at me. She was yelling at me, asking why I didn't tell her the truth about what kind of a person her mom was. She said that she couldn't trust anyone, etc... I tried to explain that I wouldn't lie to her about her mom, but that it wasn't appropriate for me to tell her a lot of this stuff. My job is to love her and take care of her. It is also my job to try and foster a good relationship between her and her mom. Part of that is not talking bad about Julie. I guess that Mica found out about a lot of lies that Julie had been telling them. She found out from a cousin that Julie told Mica's half sister to lie about Mike molesting her in order to try and get custody. Mica had believed that her sister made it up because she was jealous. Finding out that her mom was behind it was hard on her.

She also found out that her mom lied about winning the lottery. It was sad, but also a little funny. I couldn't let her see that, though. Any adult would know in two seconds that Julie (or her mom, according to the story) hadn't won 63 million dollars in the lottery. They don't have vehicles, they live in public housing, they never have money for anything. Kids have no concept of money... For the past few months, Mica has believed that her mom spent all the money on a new couch. This weekend, her mom admitted that she had gotten money and didn't want Mike to know, so she made up the story. What could I say? At the time, I knew it was a lie but you can't tell a child 'Your mom is a liar!'. I told Mica that I suspected it might not be true, but I had no way of knowing for sure and that it wasn't my place to speculate about her mom. She calmed down, but I have a feeling that there was more going on that she isn't ready to talk about.

The girls seem really happy to be back. I am relieved that they are in a safe place again.

Gila Wilderness

Echo at Bear Canyon Lake

We had been planning on taking a drive through the Gila National Forest on Saturday. Mike's brother Andy and his wife Rosie were headed in that direction, so we decided to go together. Andy brought his boat and we headed up to Bear Canyon Lake for some fishing. On the way, we stopped to look at Chino Mine, a large open pit copper mine (see picture below). We also took a look at the Kneeling Nun.

Copper Mine
This place is huge. To give you an idea, the tires blocking the road near the bottom are each 16 ft high, according to Andy.

Fishing was fun at the lake. Mia, Mike and I all caught fish. We were relocated by a herd of cows that came to drink from the lake. Mia was the last to move. She was determined to show that she wasn't scared. We didn't leave the lake until after dark, so we stayed in a hotel in Silver City. Sunday, we drove to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Beautiful scenery and educational for the kids. They couldn't believe people used to live there.

Cliff dwelling as seen from the bottom of the canyon

Detail of cave

We spent the rest of the day at Roberts Lake. The weather didn't cooperate. There was lots of hail and rain. On our way up, we saw a forest fire started by the storm. Mike and Andy caught a few fish, despite the adverse conditions. All in all, we had a wonderful weekend.

After the rain

GOOD THING: On Saturday morning, I got upset with Mike. I don't even remember what about, but I was annoyed beyond belief. When we stopped for food/ice, he bought me some yellow roses. It was a sweet thought, but I couldn't help thinking that camping for the weekend wasn't an appropriate time for flowers. I was so wrong! I put them in the ice chest with the sodas and every time I opened it to get a drink, I saw them. The cold kept them fresh and now they are gracing our tabletop. I highly recommend this romantic gesture to any of you men out there looking to redeem yourselves! Worked like a charm...

At LAST!

We returned home from a spontaneous weekend in the Gila (will post later), to find that our personalized license plates had arrived!! Yea! I am so relieved.

Being the tech savvy gal I am (NOT), I decided to renew our registration online this year. I received the notices at the new address, so I assumed everything would be fine. After paying the fees, I was directed to a screen with a reminder that IF the address on your license had not been changed (I hadn't done that yet), NOT to use the online payment as the stickers would be sent to the address on your license, not the address on your registration.

I went to our old address several times and left numerous notes that I was expecting renewal stickers. I never heard from them. Not surprising, as registration stickers are like gold here. When I contacted the DMV, I found out that vanity plates are only $15 WITH a new sticker!

I am finally legal again! I have been driving with my online receipt in my glove box and an expired tag for two months already...

PS: Make your own vanity plate here!

Photo Friday: Clouds

What an easy theme! Or so I thought... All day, I watched the sky for something of interest and nothing. I was just about to give up hope when a storm blew in. Within an hour, the sky darkened and the rain started to fall. Just as quickly, the rain was gone. It left behind an amazing double rainbow that stretched in a perfect arc across the sky. I couldn't get the whole thing in one picture. A strange golden haze lit everything. The sunset was beautiful! Johnny and I walked to the park to try and get better pictures. I wish I had been on the mountain or out of town, so that I could get a better picture of it. As it is, you will have to make do with power lines and basketball goals!

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I had a call today from Erika of muledesign.com regarding my experience with TypePad. I need to work on my people skills! I felt like asking her to email me the questions so that I could form a thought before answering.

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Mike and his guys met me and the kids at my sister's new classroom. The previous teacher had painted a wall lavender and Mattie wanted it changed. Mike mixed up some mango/goldenrod/yellow for her and in a couple of hours the room was transformed. It is much brighter! Bonus: the paint color matched the bulletin board background, so everything 'goes'.

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Even though I am still exhausted tonight, I feel 110% better. I had much more energy than I have for months. Oh, and more postcards arrived today. Thanks to Angie and Mieke! They won't be posted until sometime this weekend, though.

Carnival

There was a carnival at one of the recreation centers today. These community events are great! All the rides and food were free. They had a local radio station there with a dj and music. Lots of fun booths and entertainment.

Bleu playing with the baby

Echo in front of one of the balloons

Echo wasn't sure what to make of the crowd. By the end of the day, he was laughing up a storm. This picture was taken right after we got there, and he still had that unsure look about him.

One of the activities was face painting. We had to stand in line about a half an hour for this. Johnny was a good sport, but Butterfly lost her nerve. She made John go first, and was watching every move the clown made. We finally convinced her to get her cheek painted, but she refused to enjoy it!

Johnny leads the way

Not sure at all

She gives in

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Visitation
We talked to the girls tonight and they want to come home. Mike said he would give them a couple of days and then talk to Julie about it. They sounded so sad... I wish the judge could see what really goes on with the girls. It is so obvious to everyone that Julie doesn't care about them. It is all about the money. She has some fantasy that she will win back custody and Mike will have to start paying child support again. I don't think she had thought through what she would do with the girls if she were to get them.

I don't think they will last there for six weeks...

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Speaking of visitation, Mia will be going with her dad for three weeks at the end of July. He lives in California, so it is a big deal for me to let her go. He already sent the ticket and she was gearing up for their annual trip up the coast. When his child support check came in the mail, I noticed that the account had changed to a joint account with his girlfriend. I called to ask him if they were living together or what... He wasn't very reassuring. Said he had his own apartment, but couldn't have Mia there because of stuff going on with friends, etc. He wasn't sure where Mia would be. He isn't taking off of work this year, so she will be alone all day. To make a long story short: she is going and will be staying with him at his girlfriend's house. Mia is not happy about staying alone, so I think her vacation might be cut short as well. We'll see...