Saga Continues

First off - Happy August! How is it August already? School is starting in less than 2 weeks for Jack (shall we all say hallelujah).

Well the saga continues with Laura. Laura's mother came down with her verdict on high and decided that "it is the best interest of Laura not to be in Mississippi". Laura is very upset and has been crying for the past two days. At this time, we are going to have to seek a lawyer in California to protect ourselves because we have heard from somebody that Dina is going to sue us to stop all visitation. I am sure she has no legal leg to stand on, but the thought has put total anger and fear into both Jim and I. Dina has also cut off all communication with us and Laura at this time. She will not answer her phone nor emails. She has told Laura that we have "brainwashed" her and therefore can not talk to her until she gets home, I guess to "reprogram" her.

Anyway, it has been extremely stressful and upsetting all around. I am so weary of it all that I don't have anything left to say on the subjet. This whole thing is going to get so ugly and we are probably in for a huge fight. So tiring, frustrating, and unfair.

Ranting

Slowly but surely, I am getting over being fried from our day at the waterpark. I still can not believe how sunburnt I did get after applying 50 block sunscreen three times! Jack is nursing a good sunburn on his shoulders, which he whines mightly about quite often.

We are still in the middle of drama in the Jackaroo house. Laura's mother is enjoying playing with all of our emotions, but especially Laura's, by not making a decision whether Laura can stay here. I have a feeling that she will drag it out until the night before Laura was scheduled to go back and putting all of us through the wringer. Laura is so torn up inside because she really does want to stay here and go to the same school as Jack. But her mother keeps coming up with new reasons why this place is a horrible place. The list is quite long, which includes, she will get fat (her mother tells her she is fat all the time and does not let her eat anything but salads), I will turn into an evil step-monster and eat her while she sleeps, Mississippi is a horrible, humid place that nobody wants to live in, her entire "lifestyle" will change, her father works (doesn't most fathers?), this decision will be a huge mistake that will forever scar Laura in irrevocable ways.

I am so tired of this mess. I really do want Laura to stay. She is a joy to have around. But I am tired of having Laura's mother having control over MY life as she has for the last 6 years. Even my wedding plans to Jim had to be scrapped and we ended up going to Vegas because of her. And here she is again toying with us. It is very similar to the way a cat plays with a mouse - very cruel. Every time we press her for an answer, she comes up with some other BS, the last being she wanted 10 reasons from both Jim and Laura why Laura should stay here. Then there was the time she wanted info on the school and she was going to talk to Laura's teachers to see if they "approve" of the school, even though it is a top-rated private school. Of course they both emailed their reasons off to her two days ago with no response. Jim has tried to call her about 20 times and she does not answer her phone. Again, she holds all the cards and I am sick sick sick of it.

As it stands now, if she says no, we will have to send a very angry Laura back to her mother on Wednesday. At that point, we will probably have to spend thousands of dollars to pursue custody through the court. We have researched and the judge many times takes the wishes of the child at Laura's age into consideration. But it will take time and it will get ugly, not to mention having to cash in our retirement savings.

I know that you should never hate a person, but with Laura's mother, she is at the top of the list if I did hate somebody. I thought that moving 2000 miles away would help, but it is now looking like I need to wait another 6 years until Laura is 18 before she is out of my life. But then I am sure even then, she will find a way to push her nose into my life. Ugh!

Big News ... Almost Official

It has been quite a couple of weeks around here at the Jackaroo House.

So Laura is here for her usual summer visit. I love having her here because she is such a great stepdaughter and Jack practically worships his Sissy. It also is pretty nice having a built-in babysitter! She fits into the family so well that when she is here, it feels like she has always been here. And when she is not here, it does feel like something is missing.

Well I guess she had been thinking a lot and one day she just said that she might want to stay here and live here! Of course, Jim and I were very cautious as she said that same thing last year, only to go back to her mother's. But this year seemed different and I told her to think about it and see if it is really what she wants to do. Well after about a week of her agonizing over the decision (she even wrote down 50 pro and con things on the advice of somebody), she told her mother that she wanted to stay and go to school here.

Of course, her mother (wicked witch of the west) went into a tirade about how bad this place is for her (we eat bad food like ice cream, she will get fat) and how I am going to turn into the evil step mother. Her mother told her that she is making a bad decision and she will regret it. Of course her mother thinks that this place is a "hostile environment" for Laura to be in. There no mention of the fact that we offer a family unit and stability, something that she doesn't get from her mother.

Anyway, to make a long story short, it is looking like we will be registering Laura in school tomorrow. She will be going to Jack's school, a private christian academy. She seems very happy with her decision and already has a ton of friends around here. In fact last night, she went to a teen night thing that her friend Lanie goes to. In fact, the only reason I let her go is because I know Lanie's mother is very protective and if she thinks it is okay, then it must be okay for Laura to go. Anyway, I was waiting up until 10:30 for her to be brought home by Lanie's mother and I felt very much like a true parent of a teenager!

Aye Aye Aye! This should be interesting! We are so thrilled!

Happy Birthday Laura!

Today is Laura's 12th Birthday!!!! She is no longer a little girl, but on the brink of teenagedom! Oh my! We are looking forward to having her come here in 15 days and yes we are counting the days. We miss her very much.

It's going to be quiet around here

It was a sad day for us today. Laura left to go back to California today. We are going to miss her. She just kind of fills in our family when she is here. Jack practically worships his sister and it very nearly brought me to tears when he had to say goodbye to her. She really is a great girl and a huge help to me when she is here. She helps me clean and watches Jack whenever I need her, all without complaining once. I sure got lucky in the stepdaughter department. And it just isn't the same without her. The last 7 weeks sure flew by fast!

We also had a little get together here at the house with the family. It was Uncle Dan's birthday today so we combined his birthday party with Laura's fond farewell party. So that helped ease the transition for us, but now that everybody is gone, we are all feeling the loss of Laura. :(

Everyone should have one

A stepdaughter that is. At least one like Laura. She really is a pleasure to have around and she makes my job so much easier. She entertains her brother, she keeps her room cleaner than I keep mine, she cleaned her brother's room (big big job), and she babysat when I had a meeting at the church last night. Not only did she watch Jack and did a phenomenal job at that, but she also cleaned up the house before I got home. Yeah, everybody should have one like her.

We are off to the beach this morning. We didn't go yesterday because it turned very very hot and I was really not into baking on the sand. So instead we are going to hit the beach by 9:30 and leave by noon.

And my treat this afternoon? I get to go to the grocery store all by myself! With no boy. What freedom. Laura is going to watch him while I am at the store. Yeah I could get used to having her around very very easily.

** Update It is now afternoon and we just got back from the beach. I had heard that the UV Index was in the hazard area and man were they right. I think we absolutely baked there on the sand. At 10 in the morning! I can now say with total confidence, that I have the darkest tan that I have had in over 20 years. Not since I used to lay on my little silver suntan bed in the backyard, have I ever been this dark.

Pictures - The Room, The Pool

The girl's room. It really shows up pink in these pictures. Almost hurts your eyes. Laura and I are still discussing what we are going to do with the green paint. Right now, she wants to paint circles of all different sizes. Will post more pictures when that is done.

Also notice the reflection on the wall from her mirror that is on her bed. Laura and I could not figure out what that was in the picture. Her Dad walks up and says "oh its the mirror reflection." Duh. Yeah we felt stupid.

We went to the pool this morning. It was totally gross. There were about 6 dead frogs floating in the water, probably from the huge rain storm we had last night. Anyway, the girl would not go in the water until I had fished them all out. I guess I had to do the mother thing and de-frog the pool. After all frogs were gone, the two fishes had a fun time.

After Jim goes to bed because he has to work tonight, I am thinking about taking the kids to the beach. It isn't miserably hot today (again thanks to the rain storm) and it would be a good beach day. Ahhh tis the life. Pool, beach, fun in the sun. Tough life here.

Got a Girl

Well we got the girl. Of course, it couldn't happen without some drama enfolding. Her plane was delayed from California because of the bad weather in Texas, which meant that she was not going to make her connections in Houston. After a lot of drama with her mother and all, she finally got into New Orleans last night at 10:30, only 3 hours late. We didn't get home until 12:30, but Jack was soooo super duper excited to have his Sissy that he was practically bouncing off the walls. He did not want to go to bed when we got home, but I told him that "it was so late, it was early."

We started off today by going to the water park. Laura and her Dad went off to do the really big slides, including the water roller coaster, while Jack and I stayed in the kiddie pool area and the kiddie slides. Truth be told, the slides in the the kiddie area are quite enough for me. In fact one that Jack can't ride by himself yet, but can go with me, is quite fast and twisty turny enough for me. But I am sure, by the end of the summer, my courage will be worked up enough to go on the water roller coaster. Maybe.

But we all had fun and got home just before the big storm came through the area. It is the same storm that was holding Laura up yesterday in flying. I was invited to a Southern Living home party tonight, but am thinking about not going. Our road is basically one big river at the moment and not really into boating to the party. So a quiet night at home watching the downpour is in store.

The Countdown is Over

Today is the day. The day that we in the Jackaroo house have been looking forward to for weeks. It is the day that Laura/Sissy gets here from California. Seriously, Jack has been missing his sister so much, that it just about breaks my heart. He mentions her every single day. And for the past six weeks or so, we have been counting down the weeks and then the days. Every morning when he wakes up, he said "Sissy gets here in 3 weeks/days". And today is the day we go to pick her up from the New Orleans airport.

And if all goes well, she very well maybe staying through the school year. I am hoping and praying that is the case. It would be so good for her and Jack and Jim and I to have her here with us as a family. Of course, this all has to be okayed by her mother (the wicked witch of the west) and negotations are still continuing on that front. But I think there is a good chance that we will be enrolling her into sixth grade here in Mississippi. Yay!

And speaking of Mississippi, it is HOT and HUMID. Oh my gosh people! When at 6:30 this morning, I am outside admiring my rose bushes, I have sweat rolling off of me. There is something just plain wrong about that. I knew moving to Mississippi would mean hot and humid summers, but this is ridiculous. Enough already. Problem is, it isn't even officially summer yet! I am in trouble.

Girl's Room ... Part Two

Well after a long day of painting, Jim and I finished the girl's room. It is hot pink. Oh boy is it hot pink. But I have to admit, it looks awesome. The lime green drapery panels look awesome and her new bedding just completes the look. Jim put the PB shelves up today and put her dolls and stuffed animals on the shelves. I only bought a quart of the lime green paint and will hold off until Laura gets here to help me with that. I thought Iwould go get some stencils with her and we can stencil something on the wall with the green paint.

Oh and I have to just say that I totally heart ebay! You basically can find anything on there. I ordered a pink and green flip flop lamp shade. It is absolutely perfect for the girl since the only thing she puts on her feet are flip flops. I also ordered the light switch cover that matches the lamp shade. Of course. I will take a picture of the room and post it here when I get everything assembled and put together. I think she is going to love it.

Of course, Jim and I had to do the painting yesterday with the boy in the room. Of course he wanted to help also with his little paint brush that let him hold. I don't know how the boy did it, but I would put the smallest speck of paint on his brush to "help" paint, but somehow he managed to get that speck of paint everywhere BUT the wall. I don't know how many times I was taking a wash rag trying to get paint out of the carpet. Between him "helping" with the paint and all the trucks he insisted on bringing into the room, Jim and I needed that well deserved beer at the end of the day yesterday.

Hot Pink and Lime Green

Goodness. For the past two hours, I have been digging Laura's room out. She is a worse pack rat than her father! And THAT is saying a lot! I swear she has 4,324 pony tail holders and she never can find one when she wants one. What is up with that? She also has a ton of old stuff that she no longer cares about nor even knows she has, like all her Bratz stuff that she was SO into about three years ago. That Bratz stuff comes with 3,563 pieces for every doll.

Well all that stuff got thrown away in three boxes full of junk today. I also went through and sorted out her clothes and put aside about 90% to be given to a family at church. It is amazing because NOW you can actually see that she has a closet, not just a space full of junk and clothes. Goodness that girl.

I am also doing a makeover for her room before she gets here for the summer. She has gone with the (very) hot pink and (very) lime green colors. I bought her a new hot pink bedspread with lime green pillows, along with green and pink draperies. My Mom and Dad bought her a pink and green rug when they were here in April. Thanks guys, it looks great. I am also going to put up some shelves I bought from Pottery Barn (the best place ever) for her collectible dolls and such.

Hopefully before the weekend is over, her room will be complete. I plan on going to get some paint (hot pink of course) to paint her room. I am also going to get a quart of the lime green paint to do accents. I have been toying with the idea of painting the bottom half of her walls with the green stripes, but to be honest, not sure if my painting skills are up to snuff for that complicated endeavor. It looks easy on HGTV when they do it, but I am sure it's not. Her bedroom furniture will go to Jack in about a year when he outgrows his toddler bed. The dresser has blue drawers and I have been thinking about painting the drawers the lime green, but not sure since it will probably be Jack's next year and I will have to paint it back to blue at that time. But we shall see.

I have to admit that I am having a lot of fun decorating Laura's room. It will be fun to have her around this summer.