:)

So this past weekend with the kids was awesome. Completely Drama Free. I spent most of my time (besides cooking and cleaning for 5 kids) cuddling in my bed with Chelsea and Brooke. Mostly Chelsea. This weekend she just kept saying "Juju let's go to your bedroom and watch your TV...." I think she was loving the attention.

We went to The Family Putt-Putt to play games, eat pizza and play putt-putt. We all had so much FUN! The kids all got a lot of tickets and spent all their "credits".

Today Jarrod and I went to a new OBGYN to further inquire on why I am not ovulating and to hopefully get some results. We absolutely LOVED this Doctor and he is really going to help us to get my cycles on track and get me where I need to be so when the time is right......well you know. ;) Kinda trying to keep this private until we know exactly what is going on and what is going to happen. We are definitely super excited for our future. We don't want Chelsea and Brooke to be in High School before we have a little one.

Really starting this...

So I LOVE reading everyone's Blog but for some odd reason I just cannot find the time to blog every day or even every few days? Help people. Here is an update on some things with the kids. This blog is mainly about them, but I guess just my life in general. Bear with me because I guess I am still figuring it out.

Valentines and my birthday just passed. sigh....and I really just sighed aloud. I joked with Jarrod that I had always said I wanted to be married when I was 25. I just turned 26. What's stopping us? I guess I am still undecided on the BIG wedding or just getting a marriage license. I feel like a ton of money for a dress and even a small wedding of a few thousand just would be irresponsible on our part because of the kids. We just booked a cruise for April 3 and I was thinking we should just do it before that and that would be our "honeymoon". I just figure out if I will look back wanting that wedding like some of my friends and family have had or if I truly don't mind not having that like I keep telling myself.

Okay back to the kids. Things have been pretty....quiet with their mother and Jarrod for the most part. A few bumps and Jarrod and I are really starting to try and focus on what to do to make the kids understand that we love them and are here for them no matter where they live. Vallery and Avery and Brooke....well and Chelsea, Okay ALL the kids always come over saying they want to live with us. I am actually starting to think its because they see that actually makes us happy. Vallery and Avery are 12 and 10 so the court says at 12 the child can technically decide. But as you may have guessed it isn't just as easy as that. You still have to file a petition. The child has to write a letter and the judge has to approve it. I have figured out with some help how to file the petition and have it served and all of that, but I am not sure when the time comes for the court date if you still need a lawyer. Any lawyer Jarrod and I have spoke to want at least 2500 up front and 300 per hour and they say "could be 2 hours could be 200". Another thing is we don't know how 100% any of the kids are, how capable is a child of making that decision? I compare their situation a lot to mine, growing up my mother really never was there for me. And I know she isn't there for them either. Still having said that I still love my mom and no matter how many mistakes she has made and continues to make, I will always want her in my life. I guess the same goes for the kids, even though they (as young as 6 and 7) see their mom do things or NOT do things.....they still love her and want to be around her. They don't want to have to choose and I really believe they should never have had to.
 
If you have kids....don't get a divorce and STOP parenting together. What would really help is if Jarrod and his ex could sit down, like adults and actually make a plan to get their children some counseling in place. Stop all the back and forth negativity and both be able to have normal lives and happy kids. Robin would never show for such an appt....she never even showed for Vallery's Special ED evaluations when Val lived with us.The kids are constantly making comments of what their mom has said about Jarrod or me.... Chelsea: "my mom said these hair ties break my hair...she doesn't like them" These are the small plastic hair ties that I use for the small braids in the girls hair. Avery once told me "I think my mom really must hate you" Sure I sometime sigh and make a face when the girls come over in the jeans that are size 10, when they wear size 6 and ask "why did your mom put you in these?Or when we picked them up on the coldest day in December in shorts and NO jackets. But I never talk about her or call her names, She has called me every name in the book......and how? When she knows how much I love the kids and I care for them. It is insane that she cannot just accept the fact that her kids love me and they love her too.

On a happy note: We get the kids on Friday and the weekend before last they made Valentines that I printed off the computer and I got all the girls some more Valentiney stuff today...yay for the day after Clearance.
The next weekend we get them after this weekend will be Chelsea and Brooke's 7th Birthday...we have BIG plans and goodies and already filling my secret hiding place.....
 <3

Thinkin....

So just thinkin lately.... We go to court Dec 2nd basically just to get child support set up again. The kids mom dropped it a couple years ago when the came to agreement themselves and long story short.....she wasn't able to get it again right away, and then obviously the kids were living with us there for a while so she wouldn't have gotten it anyways. So now she has applied again...The kids actually came by Sunday morning knocking at the door and said hi to us, which was a VERY nice surprise because that has NEVER happened on an off weekend and I was literally just saying how down I was about not having them for Halloween and stuff. It's weird though because I always suspect something is up when she does something that is actually nice.

On the bright side, Jarrod saw the kids report cards and they are all passing! We are very happy about that and I really do think all the children are doing so much better now that they have been living in one place for I think 3 whole months now. I wanna say they have went to the same school this entire year. Which is saying a lot, on Vallery's ARD report ( when we got her into Special ED classes) they pulled up 16 schools. That was in 4 years! She had attended. That was probably not to mention the ones that weren't on the report because a lot of times they would only attend less than a week and then move or something (as the report showed). Anyways, I think they are doing better and all we can do is hope that it stays that way, because apparently no amount of money or lawyer can help us. The truth is that the state of Texas does not have a law regarding "educational neglect", which would be the only legitimate thing we have to go on. (cps told us this) Florida does, but Texas does not. The kids seem to be happy with Glen (her new husband) and happy in their new home and school and that's all that we have ever wanted for the kids.

Avery, I think, still wants to live with us. he calls Jarrod almost every day and I still remember the picture he drew right after she took him back. It was 2 stick figures ( one larger than the other, holding hands) and then it said "til the day we are together once again" It was like the figures were walking over a hill into the distance or sunset. It was touching. So I guess once Avery is 12, we can then file a petition for a modification so he can come to live with us, which is a mess of paperwork that I have found out (with the help of a wonderful friend) that I can do myself.


Changing subjects.....I cannot wait to see the kids this weekend. I have to work on Saturday but after I get off, I have promised to take Vallery birthday shopping. Instead of the usual cake and gifts, we agreed to let her just have money since she is 12 now and she can pick what she would like to buy ( with my approval of course) :)  And then I hope to do something fun on Sunday as a family. Any ideas????

My first thoughts....

So driving the other day I thought I constructive way to get out some thoughts would be to start this blog and I am gonna just see how it works out. I don't really want it to be about all the negative things that have come along with getting 5 step-children and all the terrible things the their mother does and things that she and their father disagree on (although I am NOT making any promises not to mention any of it). I want this blog to be about MY love for these 5 children and how much they have changed my life in the almost 3 years that I have been in their lives now. I want it to be about how I want to do more for them and everything in my power to improve the quality of life that they will have.

It's funny because someone at my work said "you are going to be a great mother because you didn't really have a great one and that's why you are so great with Jarrod's kids". I totally think she's right. Not that people who had great parents won't also be great. But, I know exactly what I DON'T want t do and what I don't want to be like.

Anyways. I am super tired from a 10 hour road trip in 2 days so this one is gonna be short. I took the two youngest out of town for my niece's 2 year old birthday party! We stayed in a hotel, which Brooke and Chelsea had NEVER done in their 6 years of life before and then we had breakfast over-looking the lake! They thought it was the ocean!! Then we drove some more and stayed another night with one of my really good friends. Chelsea and Brooke had the best time playing with Shannon's boys and just being spoiled all weekend! It really was one of the best times I had in forever.


I am really sad that we won't have the kids next weekend for Halloween and super upset because they say their mom isn't taken them trick-or-treating because she all-of-the-sudden is "against" Halloween, saying it's the "devil's day". Just really because she must be too lazy to let them do it or something. Who knows. I just think it's weird because Jarrod said she never had a problem with Halloween before and he has known her since they were both 12 years old. Wow.....so we painted fingernails orange and black!!!  :))