Finally Finished Decorating!

Well, the outside at least! All I had left to do was to put up the lights around the eve's of the house. So I got the lights and borrowed the neighbors ladder, I put the ladder up to the house, climb up it and then chicken out, LOL! I did get the snowflake lights up around one of the lower eve's but the rest is to high and there's a tall point in one spot that scares me to death. It's like each time I got to the top of the ladder my body started to shake! I could have waited for Eddie to get home but by then it would have been to dark so instead I called my little brother. He came by, climbed right up the ladder like it was nothing, got on the roof and went right to it. Thank you little brother! I'll take some pics this weekend so you all can see =)
TGIF!
~K

We Love Santa!

This evening we went to our local hardware store/garden center where our neighbor (Chuck) across the street (the one who decorates like crazy!) plays Santa each year. We met the kids adopted grandparents there for some fun pictures with Santa. You can even bring your pets for pics with Santa as well!
But what was sooo cute was the fact that Logan did not realize that Chuck was Santa. He shyly went up to him and I sat him on his lap but he wouldn't smile, just kinda had a scared look on his face. But he did better then last year, he made sure to keep at least 2 feet between he and Santa last year! Then after Brenden, Chase and Snoopy took their pics, we had walked off and Logan ran back up to him and was telling him what he wanted for Christmas so I sat with them and we got a pic of him halfway smiling. I just thought it was so sweet that he really didn't know it was Chuck. Although had he known we would have gotten a big ole smile for sure!
I have some pics but Chuck is scanning them for me so as soon as I get them I will post them because they are too cute!
Here ya go...These were poloroids that were scanned so the quality is not so great, but you get the picture! All of our eyes look funny, especially Brenden's, oh well!

Look what we did today!

Today as our home school art project we went to the neighbors house and made Gingerbread houses! Well, more like Graham cracker houses, LOL! With 5 kids it's cheaper and easier that way. So we used Graham crackers, cake icing (but Bren had a good thought when he suggested that next time we use peanut butter) sprinkles, Christmas colored malted milk balls, m&m's, candy canes, Christmas peeps and gummy swirls. My friend Dana and I helped the little ones put the houses together and then let them go at it with the decorations. They had a blast! And the end results were so cute =) Thank goodness I took pictures before things got too crazy though...another neighbor came over to check out the kids houses and while playing around made Kylee's house crumble! Then while trying to get a picture of all 3 of my kids Logan was being a brat hitting on Chase and when he grabbed for the table he grabbed the plate his house was on and it started to fall then crumbled too =( Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Here are some pics...
Check out Brenden's, I think that's a Gingerbread Mansion, LOL! And check out that icing on his face!



Chase in the process of decorating! See Logan trying to climb out the window, LOL! And he did a few times after that!















Logan decorating =)





























The whole crew!

Gotta lose some weight!!!!

Oh My Goodness! I am embarrassed to say this...but I gained about 17 pounds this Summer. How, I have no idea. I was so active, always moving, swimming, chasing after someone. I didn't eat as much being we were so busy, I just don't know how this happened! It just sucks because I worked so hard to keep the weight off after having Logan =(

So not like I didn't already know I was going to have to lose this extra weight, plus the 30 I also need to lose to be at the weight I'd like to be, it gets even worse! My brother's fiance came by today. I thought it was kinda odd since she never comes over by herself, but she had something important to tell me. What she wanted to tell me was that she and my brother have set their wedding date and that I am going to be a Brides Maid! Of course I accepted and thanked her but I guess the thought of having to wear a dress hadn't yet crossed my mind. Even when she asked to use my computer to show me the dress she had picked out, still not registering yet...and even when she showed me the dress, still not getting through to me! LOL! It wasn't until after she left that I came back in to take a second look and view the full view including the back of the dress did I realize what I had just gotten myself into, AHHHHH! This is one of those dresses that only looks good on a size ZERO, and their ass would still look fat! I am a size FOURTEEN! I HATE dresses to begin with because they never fit me, not without alterations. I am a top heavy girl...a 40 DDD to be exact with a decent waist and medium hips so they really have to alter the top. But even if I were to lose the weight and say get down to a size 9/10 where I'd like to be this dress still wouldn't look good. And the other 3 brides maids will all be having babies a few months before the wedding so I'm sure they can't be too happy with this dress choice either! I am SO hoping she changes her mind between now and the wedding. Which by the way, is scheduled for November 22, 2008. So I have like 10 months to lose it before dress fitting time next September. Oh, and I'm also buying one of those slim fit body shaper things ...I'm sure ya'll have seen the commercial!

So if anyone has any ideas, advice, anything on how they lost weight please send them my way!

(Aha! Thank you to Becky for telling me how to put the picture where I want it!!)

This is the dress except it will be Midnight Blue...and it better have one of those shawl, cover up thingy's!!

Potato Casserole Recipe

This was my grandma's recipe, she made this each Christmas and it is my favorite holiday dish (heck, it's not just for holiday's you can make it any day of the year!) So to carry on her tradition I make this each Thanksgiving and Christmas and each year I am asked to make more because the one dish I bring just isn't enough. Well, it is, just not enough because everyone wants seconds and thirds, LOL!

Potato Casserole-

1 bag frozen southern style hashbrowns

1 16 oz. light or regular sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 sticks margerine

2 1/2 cups corn flakes

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped onions

salt & pepper to taste

Thaw southern style hashbrowns overnight in fridge.
Preheat oven to 350*
Mix together sour cream, soup, onions, s&p, 1 cup shredded cheese and 1 stick margerine, melted. Combine well then slowly add in thawed potato's. Stir all together until well coated. Pour into 9 x 13 baking dish and set aside.

In another bowl crush 2 1/2 cups corn flakes, add 1 cup shredded cheese and 1 stick margerine, melted. Mix well. Spread evenly on top of casserole and cover with foil.

Place in oven for 30 minutes at 350*. Then take foil off and back for another 20 to 30 minutes until top is light golden color.

Let cool for 10 minutes and then enjoy!
It's so yummy!!!

(Although I have found that for some reason little ones do not like the topping?? (my fave part!) but as they got older they loved it. So if you have a picky one just scrape the topping off!)

Windy, Cold, Rainy, Warm, BLAH!

That's what it was this weekend! Saturday it was windy, freezing cold and rainy. We went out to run a few errands and eat and that was about it. Today it was very rainy and warm! We did absolutely NOTHING! Boring! Well, I did go to the store and to Subway, that was my excitement for this miserable day. This rain just ruined everything. I still need to put my lights up around the eve's of the house but I am too scared to get on the roof so Eddie is going to do it but definitely not in the rain! So that was a no go. Now I'll probably have to wait til next weekend =(
Go away rain!

Fun Friday!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day! Unlike what today is supposed to be. The kids played outside ALL day back and forth between my house and the neighbors house 2 houses down. My neighbor (the one who my kids love and he babysits for me) took off work so he could put up his Christmas lights. He had his 3 yr. old little girl that day so Logan was happy he had his friend to play with. They ran and played and rode their bikes up and down the street then watched movies and played some more between our 2 houses. I actually got to go to the store by myself while he watched them and then cleaned while the kids played outside. It was windy and cool so we had our doors open. It was just a really great day!

Something Very Special

While at my parents for Thanksgiving my Mom, sister and I were talking about my Grandma (Mom's mom). She passed away this past March 1. I was talking about how I like carrying on her love for baking and then got onto the subject of how I was upset that I did not get anything special to remember her by when she passed. That reminded my Mom that she had something of my Grandma's for me. She took me back to her room and handed me a 14 carat gold nugget pendant with a 1 carat diamond. I am so happy to have something that will always remind me of my Grandma =) But what made it even more special was the engraving that I did not see on the back of it! When I was showing Eddie, he noticed it and read it out to me...engraved on the back was: LMH - REG 1935-1985. It was the gift my Grandfather gave to my Grandmother for their 50th wedding anniversary! When I told my Mom she did not even know that was on there.
I'm going to take it to the Jewelry store this next week to have it cleaned and appraised and then pick out a thick gold chain so I can start wearing it!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The things I am thankful for-
I am thankful for my family & friends. I am thankful for the food we have on our table and for the roof over our heads. I am thankful to have such a wonderful husband who works hard to support the kids and I. I am thankful for our good health. I am thankful for many other things as well, but you get the point!
Today we are going to my parents house to spend Thanksgiving with my husband & kids, my Mom, my sister & her 2 kids and my brother and his fiance. My Dad is in new Jersey working and won't be here with us but he will be thought of. My Dad will be coming in town for Christmas. Usually my Mom isn't here either, but she is in town early this year to help my sister with her new baby.
I can't wait to eat some yummy Turkey and all the fixings! I hope that this Thanksgiving is a great one for all and that you all have many things to be thankful for as well =)
Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Started Decorating!

Well, I finished painting the trim on the house, and got my new bushes and mulch in so its time for the Christmas lights to go up! I did get the bushes wrapped, the snowmen in that line the walkway and my front door and porch area are almost done. Eddie and/or my brother will put the lights up around the house eve's sometime this weekend I hope and then I will put out my blow up's, Rudolf and my snowman and snowoman.
It was really hard to start decorating because again it was 81 with another heat index of 91*. Crazy!
My neighbor across the street was out there in the dark trying to finish up his lights. He's made this huge Christmas tree in his front yard. It's gonna look pretty neat when it's done and turned on. We were all trying to finish by tomorrow night so we could have a little light turn on ceremony!
And right now as I write this the wind and rain are coming through, a cold front. So at least tomorrow on Thanksgiving it will actually feel like Thanksgiving should. For the next few days the temps will be in the upper 50's, lower 60's and at night in the upper 30's, lower 40's. Then back up to 70 next Wednesday. Finally, we can stop wearing our Summer clothes for a bit!
Tonight I am baking. I made 2 batches of my Grandma's special recipe, Honey Cakes. Although I don't know why they are called Honey Cakes because there is NO honey in them, LOL!
I think they came out pretty good but they need to cool and set overnight. Then I made up my Potato Casserole. (If anyone wants the recipe let me know and I'll post it!) I let it set overnight then add the topping in the morning before I bake it. It is my favorite holiday dish to cook. Everyone loves it and begs me to bring more each year. This year I only have to make 2. I made one for Eddie's Thanksgiving feast at work today and then one for my parents house tomorrow. Eddie's parents went to Texas to visit with his Mother's parents. Her father is in the hospital since late October after being in a car wreck. He has 2 ruptured disks, I think they said that are pinching some nerves and he cannot feel his left side to write or walk, which sucks because like my Chase he is left handed! He is 90 yrs. old and they are afraid to put him under anesthesia to operate b/c the last time he almost didn't make it. So I think for right now they are doing physical therapy which is really hard on him, poor thing.
Okay, off to go bathe the little one and get ready for bed so we won't be too tired tomorrow.
Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Swimming in November?

Yep, that's what my kids did today! It was 81 degrees with a heat index of 91*, ridiculous, huh? Logan & Kaiden didn't want to put their suits on so they sat and read books =)
Here's some pics...

And the decorating has begun!

When we got back from the movies yesterday 2 of the houses on our street were already done being decorated and the 3rd was in the process! That's the house that does it big and he is halfway done. I feel like I'm last now since I have not even begun! I have started cleaning, That's a start. I still need to paint the outside trim around the kitchen window and the front door trim and put my new Camellia's and some kind of green bush in my flower beds so I can wrap lights around them. I will try to get that done this week so I can start decorating on Sunday. I can't wait!

Eddie's Birthday!

Today is Eddie's 37th Birthday! I made him breakfast (or maybe it was brunch since it was already 10:30!). It was his day so we did what he wanted to do...we went to Circuit City to go find some games that were on sale (didn't find them) and then he decided he wanted to go see a movie. We saw Dan, in Real Life. It was just okay, nothing to rave about. I thought it would be a little funnier with Steve Carell and all but it was more like a love story. After that we went to O'Henry's...home of the FREE birthday steak, LOL! I must say, his steak was awesome! Then we went home and had cake and ice cream and gave him his gifts. I got him a wallet, Bren got him a really cool LSU mug, Chase got him some dress socks and Logan got him a pack of mini M&M's =)

My Hair, Going Out and a REAL Babysitter!

(in the picture from Left to right: Eddie, me, Eddie's brother Frankie and my brother Rush...for some reason the pic is distorted and our eyes look funny!)

Well, today (Saturday) I finally got my hair done! It's only been 8 months since my last hi-lite! I was seriously in need, my roots were horrible and my hair was dark, flat and lifeless and that was really making me feel like shit. So now, my hi-lite's are back better than ever and I feel so much better =) My girl even trimmed up the back, waxed my eyebrows and even did my eye shadow for me since we were going out later for Eddie's B-day. I go to my friend Karen, we've been friends for about 9 years and she is a fellow hairstylist. I do not trust anyone else with my hair!

So I head home with my awesome hair only to have my husband be a complete dick. Not sure why, he said something about hating it streaky, which it isn't. After a few washes it kinda calms down and falls into place. All I wanted was a " hey, you look nice" or something. But whatever, I love it and I feel better and that's all that matters.

So after that I had to make a quick trip to the mall to get Eddie's birthday present. I had wanted to get him some Nike Shox tennis shoes but instead got him a wallet and some dress socks and will get the shoes for him for Christmas. Then I made a little detour before leaving and found the cutest shirt to wear out that night!

Then I had to get home to clean up and feed the kids because Eddie and I were going out to celebrate his 37th B-day (which is really Sunday). We actually had a REAL babysitter coming! Her name is Alicia and she will be 15 on the 18th. We met her through her mom who is Chase's nurse at the ENT where he goes for Allergy shots each Friday.

When I say REAL babysitter, I mean that it was someone that was not a family member or close friend. It's not often that I get to go out but when I do it was usually our good friend/neighbor Marlen that would babysit. He's a 49 yr. old (doesn't act or look it!) man with a daughter the same age as Logan, he's really cool and super with my kids and most of all Logan loves him. He listens to him and doesn't even cry when we leave him there. He's truly the best sitter ever! But, he didn't have his daughter this weekend and his roommate is super sick so he couldn't watch the kids. I didn't want to ask my mom or Eddie's parents because they always say no so we just stopped asking! So I was stuck wondering what the hell to do and that's when we thought of Alicia. Her mom had told me that she loved to babysit and would love to do it so I figured why not give it a try?

Her parents brought her over at 7:15 and we started to leave when Logan decides he is coming with us. Well, me! He told everyone that he and I were going to Walmart! So he goes up to Alicia and gives her a hug and tells her bye then goes around the room with hugs and byes for his brothers and Eddie. It was kinda funny but sad at the same time. So I had to explain to him that Daddy and me were going out and that he and brothers would stay with Alicia. He fought me and wasn't letting up so I had to think of another way to get out! And as much as I hate doing this, I had to do the sneak out =( I got him interested in showing Alicia our movie cabinet so when he sat down with her to show her his movies I snuck out the back. Damn, I hate doing that! But he was fine, so she said. Until right when we got to the restaurant she calls to tell me that he took a poop and would not let her change him! He wanted me! AHHH! I ended up telling her to just do what she had to do to get it changed. By the next time I text her he was on the couch on sleeping! Which he never does so that shocked me! A little bit later she text to tell me he was awake but was being good thinking he was playing X-box! LOL! He holds an extra control while the boys play and thinks he's really playing too! Hey, but whatever works!
Okay, so Eddie and I met up with a bunch of friends at a local restaurant/bar and watched the LSU game, ate, had some drinks and just sat around talking. After that we went to our little daiquiri/bar hangout. When we pulled up I noticed my sister's car in the parking lot and was surprised to see her when we walked in. I felt kinda bad because I forgot to invite her to come out with us! Being she just had a baby 2 months ago, I just figured she wasn't ready to go out yet, oops! Anyway, she was just as surprised to see me and we all sat together and talked, it was all good. We left around midnight because I didn't want to be to late with the new sitter. When we got home they were all sleeping except Brenden, Chase woke up when we walked in and he rode with me to bring her home. On the way home I asked her how everything went and told her to be honest! She said that my kids were probably the best kids she'd ever babysat! Whoo hoo! That was good to hear! Only bad thing was that Logan called her a bad word after she made him let her change his diaper, whoops :/ After dropping her off I drilled Chase about the night and what he thought and he said everything went well and he would definitely want her to watch them again in the future so that was good to hear too =)

Another thing, I'm not used to is having to pay for a sitter! I had NO idea what the going rate was these days and she told me to just pay her whatever I thought was good. So I paid her $30, I figured $10 per child would work. She said what I paid was good so I guess I did okay!

Road work & Speeders

Okay, we live on a very small, narrow, dead end street and right now it is under construction. There were really only 2 spots that needed fixing but they decided to fix some cracks in the road as well, which was stupid in my opinion! So, right now the whole right side of the street is blocked off. Next week my side will be jackhammered (at 6:30 in the freaking morning) and then they will lay the new concrete on Wednesday. It's been a real pain in the ass and I cannot wait for them to be done. With our street being so small it's really hard to drive down the street let alone pull into my driveway. But what is worse is that we have 2 new houses at the end of the street and the new people that have moved in have a BIG speeding problem! Like it's not bad enough that they speed when the street is normal, they are now speeding even more with half the road blocked off! Speeding on our street to begin with is just ridiculous and now it's just absurd. The speed limit is 15 and when I say that these people are going every bit of 50+ I'm not kidding. Even with the road blocked off they are doing this! So I called the owner of the 2 rent houses and nicely asked if she could remind them that the speed limit is only 15 and there are a lot of kids on our street, etc. and she was a complete BITCH! I wanted to curse her out so bad! Instead I just got stern and bitchy like she did. And the next time I see her I am going to tell her that when something bad happens I will hold her totally responsible, maybe that will set in some reality for her. Anyway, she tells me to call the sheriff so I did and they told me to call the traffic division in the morning. So I called them and the deputy tells me honestly that I'll never reach anyone in that department but that I could leave a message and they'd call me. Well, that still hasn't happened and I doubt it will. So I have no idea what to do now. And it's not just me, it's all the neighbors that are pissed about this. But being I am the neighborhood watch captain it's my job to get this taken care of. I did have a little meeting with the president and one of the board members and we are going to see what can be done. So far, we have stopped 2 of the drivers that were speeding. One was a dick, probably b/c I'm a girl and the other was cool but I think that's b/c my neighbor who is a guy did it. Anyway, we'll see how things go and then decide what actions need to be taken. I just hope it doesn't take something bad to happen before something is done.

Daylight Saving Time

I really do not like Daylight Saving Time. I wish they'd end it all together! I love it when it stays light in the evenings. The kids have fun playing and wear themselves out more it seems and we see the neighbors more often and stand around outside talking. But here we were tonight at 5:45 already dark and the kids mad that they had to come inside =(

Here is some interesting info on DST. The main one being...Remember to change your batteries in your smoke detector!



Just as sunflowers turn their heads to catch every sunbeam, so too have we discovered a simple way to get more from our sun.

Daylight Saving Time gives us the opportunity to enjoy sunny summer evenings by moving our clocks an hour forward in the spring.

Yet, the implementation of Daylight Saving Time has been fraught with controversy since Benjamin Franklin first conceived of the idea. Even today, regions and countries routinely change their approaches to Daylight Saving Time.

Here, you can learn about the history of daylight saving (or as some may say, daylight shifting), the standardization of time, and when regions around the globe spring ahead and fall back. Enjoy!


Date change in 2007

On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress. Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete.

Spelling and grammar

The official spelling is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight SavingS Time.

Saving is used here as a verbal adjective (a participle). It modifies time and tells us more about its nature; namely, that it is characterized by the activity of saving daylight. It is a saving daylight kind of time. Because of this, it would be more accurate to refer to DST as daylight-saving time. Similar examples would be a mind-expanding book or a man-eating tiger. Saving is used in the same way as saving a ball game, rather than as a savings account.

Nevertheless, many people feel the word savings (with an 's') flows more mellifluously off the tongue. Daylight Savings Time is also in common usage, and can be found in dictionaries.

Adding to the confusion is that the phrase Daylight Saving Time is inaccurate, since no daylight is actually saved. Daylight Shifting Time would be better, but it is not as politically desirable.

When in the morning?

In the U.S., clocks change at 2:00 a.m. local time. In spring, clocks spring forward from 1:59 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.; in fall, clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. In the EU, clocks change at 1:00 a.m. Universal Time. In spring, clocks spring forward from 12:59 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.; in fall, clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

In the U.S., restaurants and bars have various closing policies. In many states, liquor cannot be served after 2:00 a.m. But at 2:00 a.m. in the fall, the time switches back one hour. So, can they serve alcohol for that additional hour in October? The official answer is that the bars do not stop serving liquor at 2:00 a.m., but actually at 1:59 a.m. So, they have already stopped serving when the time changes from Daylight Saving Time into Standard Time. In practice, however, many establishments stay open an extra hour in the fall.

In the U.S., 2:00 a.m. was originally chosen as the changeover time because it was practical and minimized disruption. Most people were at home and this was the time when the fewest trains were running. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. It is early enough that the entire continental U.S. switches by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early churchgoers are affected.
Some U.S. areas

For the U.S. and its territories, Daylight Saving Time is NOT observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and Arizona . The Navajo Nation participates in the Daylight Saving Time policy, even in Arizona, due to its large size and location in three states.

A safety reminder

Many fire departments encourage people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they change their clocks because Daylight Saving Time provides a convenient reminder. "A working smoke detector more than doubles a person's chances of surviving a home fire," says William McNabb of the Troy Fire Department in Michigan. More than 90 percent of homes in the United States have smoke detectors, but one-third are estimated to have dead or missing batteries.

** This info was copied from: http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b.html **

Thanksgiving and Christmas!

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is only 18 days away! I have no idea what our plans are this year. Most years we go to Eddie's parents house but I think they will be out of town this year. Then my parents will actually be in town this year but I really don't care to go there either! I had originally wanted to go back to the beach but the condo we wanted has been reserved and Eddie's Grandpa is in the hospital in Texas so we might need to make a trip out there. I guess we could always do our own Thanksgiving here at the house.

And then of course 32 days after Thanksgiving comes Christmas! My favorite time of the year! Not because of the presents but because I love all of the lights and decorations. Especially on our street! We have the most decorated street in the neighborhood. Almost everyone decorates and it's just so bright and pretty. Our neighbor across the street does it big with tons of lights and yard decorations, he has always won first place. Last year was his first year that he had the lights in sync to music that was broadcast on a radio station. So when you pulled onto our street you would tune your radio to said station and you could hear the music he was playing and watch the lights blink to the music. It was so cool. Once people found out about this we had tons of traffic on our tiny street enjoying the lights and music. There is also another neighbor up the street that tries to compete, it's too funny. He puts a huge 12 ft. tall blow up snowman on his roof along with 12 ft candy canes made from PVC pipe along his walkway. Seriously, turning onto our street is like turning into Candy Land! I will post some pictures (hopefully I'll have a new camera soon!) when the street is fully decorated so that you all can see. I know the neighbor across the street will be starting his decorating this coming weekend. I will have mine done by Thanksgiving weekend. I can't wait!

My poor camera =(

Well, after 2 yrs. my camera has had it! When we went to the beach in September it must have gotten sand in the lens area. So for a while it would just sound rough but still opened but I guess the more times it opened the sand worked it's way up into the gears that open and extend the lens. It started getting worse to where I'd have to kinda pull on the lens and then Halloween night it just gave up and won't open at all now. Which really sucks because I love to take pics! It's not worth getting fixed because so many more advanced digital cameras have come out since then and I'd really like a better one. So I guess I'll be asking Eddie for a new digital camera for Christmas and hopefully he'll give it to me early!

The "adopted" Grandparents

Continued from the Halloween entry about their "adopted" Grandparents...
These are old neighbors/friend's of mine, they live across the street from my parents house and I have known them for 17 years. Sonny is 70 and Kathy is 63. Sonny has 4 daughters from his first marriage and he might have grand kids, I'm not really sure. He hasn't heard from his children since 1990! He said that once he put them all through college he never really heard anything from them unless they needed money. So he stopped dishing out the money to them and hasn't heard from them since! He and Kathy married about 29 years ago. She was 34 then but they never had any kids together. We've never really talked about why, but I know she wanted kids and would have been a great mom.
So, she has "adopted" my kids as her grand kids, which is really cool because as most of you know my parents and Eddie's parents are not very good grandparents. Sad, but true. We have battled with this since Brenden was born and it's just gotten much worse over the years. Eddie's parents live literally 2 minutes away, yet we never see them. The only time we see them is on Birthday's or Holiday's, so I'm gonna estimate once a month. When we do see them we do not feel comfortable or welcome around them, and the kids feel this as well. Now, my parents have a house about 4 minutes away from us. Right now they live in New Jersey. My Dad only comes into town for Christmas and my Mom comes in with him and she stays until March. BUT, even when they did live here we did not see them that often and they never came by to see the kids unless I said something about it. And my Mom has been in town since late August because my sister was pregnant and then she stayed to help. Well, the only reason we've seen her is because she came to Kathy's across the street while we were there swimming. She finally came to the house just last week BUT again only because she wanted me to cut her hair! Not really to come by and visit with the kids! And my kids even tried to give her a hug when she came in and she just went straight to the couch, no hugs =( And when she left, again the kids tried to hug her and she just got in her car so they ran over and gave her half a hug as much as they could with her sitting in her car! It's just sad. Every time they go to Kathy and Sonny's they get hugs and they talk to them and make them feel loved and welcome, the way it should be. And Bren & Chase have even said how they feel about when they are with them compared to how they feel with their own grandparents.
Would you believe that their own grandparents not only do not offer to come visit but they don't babysit them either. I can count on one hand how many times they've babysat!I know so many of my friends who's parents can't wait to watch their grand kids or have them sleep over. My kids have NEVER slept at their grandparents homes! So whenever we have somewhere to go together most of the time I just wouldn't go or just recently our favorite neighbor Marlen watches them!
But what's weird is my Mom is really close with my sister and her kids. She does everything for her kids. Maybe that's because my sister still lives in my parents house and has never really grown up! Who knows.
Anyway, my kids also have another set of "adopted" Grandparents. Our neighbors across the street from where we live now. Mr. Dewey and Ms. Margie, they are in their mid to late 70's and have 3 kids and many grand kids. But being we are across the street, they see my kids very often. Probably too often, LOL, since Margie started giving Logan cookies, he now goes over there every afternoon for his afternoon snack of cookies, water and a banana! Even more, they have the kind of refrigerator that has the water/ice feature on the door! Logan LOVES this! And has learned to use it well. She thinks it cute that he likes to do everything himself so she has put the baggies and cups within his reach so now when he goes over there he gets everything all by himself. It is really cute and they think he's hoot. They also give Bren and Chase treats and love to watch the kids play outside from their kitchen window. Brenden is the their lawn boy and they pay him good and even give Chase & Logan little chores like watering the lawn and plants for $1.
So even though their "real" Grandparents SUCK, it's good that we have such nice, goodhearted friends/neighbors to show them how a Grandparent should be. I really could go into waaaaay more details about the things we've had to deal with with our parents because it's a lot worse than what I've written here, but it just makes me mad so I'll leave it at this.