"One more song about moving along the highway. Can't say much of anything that's new"

Tonight, we're going in a road rally. It's something I've always wanted to do, and am really looking forward to it. We leave for vacation tomorrow. I'm not packed yet, but I have the clothes all pulled out. SO, I'll see you all in a week. Behave yourselves.
Look at these interesting facts about me! I'll bet you didn't know half of them.

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Schell!

1. Schell is the only king without a moustache on the standard pack of cards!
2. Schell can sleep for three and a half years.
3. Red schell at night, shepherd's delight. Red schell at morning, shepherd's warning!
4. Schell can eat up to four kilograms of insects in a single night.
5. Birds do not sleep in schell, though they may rest in her from time to time.
6. Fish travel in schools, but whales travel in schell.
7. Schell became extinct in England in 1486.
8. All the moons of the Solar System are named after characters from Greek and Roman mythology, except the moons of Uranus, which are named after schell!
9. People used to believe that dressing their male children as schell would protect them from evil spirits!
10. Olympic badminton rules say that schell must have exactly fourteen feathers!

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

"Hide it in the hiding place where no one ever goes. Put it in the pantry with your cupcakes."

I've decided, at least until I decide not to, that I'm going to try to title each entry with lyrics from a song. We'll see how long that lasts.

Tomorrow is the home inspection. I've been trying to walk around my house, objectively, and see if there's anything remiss. I've got a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, smoke detectors all working, no exposed wiring. Is there anything else I should be concerned about? Should I hide the liquor? It's normal for a family to have a couple of bottles of liquor around, right? I guess as long as I'm not drinking it when the guy arrives, it should be alright. It's okay that it's obvious Keith's a hunter right? Or should I put away the deer head and boar head? Anything else you can think of that I should put away, or get out?

There's something wrong with my refrigerator, everything keeps freezing. I had the guy come today to check it out, and he said it needs a new thermostat and that he'd order one for me. I hope it's not too expensive.

I took Braden to his annual psychiatrist appointment today...he's impressed with what a great school year Braden had, and wants to try to cut back on his meds a little. While I'd like Braden to be on as little medicine as possible, I don't want to rock the boat too much. Once again, it's a quagmire.

Braden pulled his first all-nighter last night. Him and some of the neighbor kids slept out in a tent. They went from house to house all night. I heard them come in here about 4:30 this morning...Keith wasn't very happy about it either. They fell asleep around 6 this morning, then woke up at 11:30. He napped on the way to the doctor and on the way home. He should be a bear around 8:00 tonight.

How do you like my hedgehog? Cute isn't she? For some reason, I like hedgehogs. Must be their prickly exterior. The same reason I like Nag, Allan and Emma.

I made myself a cd yesterday with songs I downloaded. Here is what's on it:
Just Walk Away Renee by The Association
Got to be Real by Cheryl Lynn
Welcome to Pooh Corner by Loggins and Messina
Night and Day by Al B Sure
Lonely Boy by Andrew Gold
Been Around the World by Lisa Stanfield
Knock Three Times by Tony Orlando and Dawn
September by Earth WInd and Fire
Now That We Found Love by Heavy D and the Boyz
Side Show by Blue Magic
Enough is Enough by Streisand and Summers
C'est La Vive by Robbie Neville
Don't Want to Fall in Love by Jane Child
Sign Your Name by Terrance Trent Darby
Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel
Everlasting Love by Natalie Cole

Would you listen to any of these over and over again?

What a great weekend!
JJ came each day, (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). He wasn't allowed to stay over, but was here until 10 each night. Robert was supposed to just come on Friday and Sunday because he was going to be playing in a basketball tournament on Saturday, so we invited JJ's older brother here on Saturday. When I went to pick them up, the basketball thing had been canceled, so I had three of them here. It was a fun, fun day. They swam, ate, played video games, ate, rode the four-wheeler, ate, played basketball, ate, watched tv and of course, ate.
Braden went on a scout camping trip this weekend, and was gone from Friday evening until yesterday around lunch time. He had a good time, and was in charge of the food and cooking for the trip. He said everyone liked his menu and the boy that was supposed to help him wasn't much help, but he liked doing it himself. He has almost all his criteria met for 1st class scout. He says he wants to go on to be an eagle scout, but I don't know if he'll stick with it that long.
I indulged Keith on Saturday night, so he was in a great mood on Sunday.
Today, Braden has to go for bloodwork, and then to the dentist. Tomorrow he has a doctor's appointment, and Wednesday we have our home inspection by the Children's Home. Then I have to start packing. We leave for vacation on Sunday. I've booked the kennel for Toby, and hired the neighbor boy to feed the cats and water my containers.

Infestation - yuk

I've been infested....inside and out.

We have a terrible Japanese Beetle problem. It's in my old-man-walking-stick, my rose bushes, my pussy willow (sssh, Bert), my sandcherry (again, sssh)and Keith's prized Japanese red maple...they're everywhere. We've sprayed them a couple of times, and they just keep coming back. It's gross to see them all over the leaves...and most of the time they're having sex. I'm afraid it's turning Keith on.

I went to the dentist today for my cleaning. My gums are a mess. They've been slowly becoming a mess, but in the last three months, they've gotten extremely worse. And, I have a baby tooth (2nd from the front) that's getting very very loose. If it falls out, I won't leave the house. My teeth are crooked and I have a complete overbite. I just want to have them all yanked and get beautiful, straight, white false teeth. My dentist says I shouldn't do that...is she just saying that because she's a dentist? If I don't do that I'm looking at gum surgeries, orthodontics and implants...probably about double the price of a good set of dentures.

I'll admit it, I was wrong...

The meeting wasn't what I thought it was going to be. When the secretary called to set up the meeting, she said it was "a meeting about JJ"....and, his meeting was supposed to be yesterday, so I assumed it was "HIS MEETING". I was wrong. It was just a general meeting with us and other people that sponsor kids at the home. It was a good meeting, but not the one I'd hoped for. I learned something shocking at the meeting....there are 125 kids at the home (some in group homes, some at the actual campus). Of those kids, only 12 kids have sponsors. And, Keith and I sponsor 2 of them. That's very sad, isn't it? HOWEVER, at the end of the meeting the facilitator told us that he had a message for us. He said that we were supposed to call the person in charge of the fostering today. He said he didn't know exactly what it was about, but he thought it was good. Now, I'm just waiting for a decent time so I can call.

After the meeting we went to see JJ and Robert. JJ said his caseworker told him yesterday that within weeks he'll be living here. JJ said to him, "you mean a month?" and he said, "no, more like two weeks."

It seems like things are finally moving in the right direction. I'm so excited I could practically burst. And, you should have seen JJ yesterday. He couldn't take the smile off his face.

Just a general update

The rain has finally stopped! It rained for five or six straight days here, and there's flooding everywhere. Luckily, I don't live right near any rivers, creeks or lakes, but within ten miles of me people were evacuated and houses and businesses are ruined. The Delaware still hasn't crested, but it's more than 13' over flood stage.
Keith and I were invited to attend JJ's meeting today at the home. I'm a little nervous, but mostly I'm excited. I expect it to go well. Hopefully we'll leave there with a date when he can come and live with us. Of course, Keith's still walking saying, "who's the man?" because of his phone call with the supervisor last week.
Braden wants to go spend the day today with the tea lady...lord knows why. So, while he's gone, I'm going to mop my kitchen floor and clean his room really well. He's doing pretty well with his cast and except for the complaints of it itching him, and the fact that he can't turn a doorknob, you wouldn't know he had it.
I still need to get a new ceiling light for the kitchen, and get my phone line moved for the computer. Oh yeah, and there's a cabinet that needs to get hung. I told Keith I want it all done by this weekend. We'll see if it happens.
We're talked about having a little cookout/party on Monday for the 4th. So far, we've just talked about it. I reminded Keith that we don't have table tops on either of our outside tables, and that might make outdoor entertaining a little tough. He's such a procrastinator. Those tops have been broken since last fall. WTF?
That's about it for me. Nothing more to report.

What a nice weekend I (we) had. Even though the weather was horrible, we had a good time.
On Saturday, we went to Keith's company picnic. Robert went with us, and he and Braden had a great time. Then we went to a graduation party where there were lots of friends and lots of good food. When I was taking Robert back on Saturday, he said to me, "I'm coming again tomorrow?", while nodding his head yes. Well, I couldn't possibly say no.


Sunday was Keith's birthday. We all slept in until 10:00. Keith went to pick up Robert and made a Dunkin Donuts run. We hung out the rest of the morning, then went to this indoor bowling alley/laser tag/arcade place. When we came home we had to get ready for Braden's boy scout picnic. The leaders of his troup can make something that's normally fun torturous. It drug on. So, we used the excuse that we had to take Robert home to leave. We came home and played some board games then took Robert back around 10:00.
Braden's doing pretty well with his cast...in fact at the graduation party he was playing volleyball with a bunch of older kids and won the game for them by using the cast as a great server. The kids all high fived him and messed his hair up, he was in his glory. It does itch him a lot...but he's been using a chop stick to take care of that.
It's amazing, now that I'm not so worried about JJ (and Robert) how much more I'm enjoying the everyday things. Even the four straight days of rain (with three more expected) isn't so bad.

It was sooo good to see JJ yesterday. He went swimming for a bit with Keith and Braden, then we ate and left for the game. He can't go to Keith's company picnic on Saturday, because he already planned a visit home to see his aunt, but they said Robert can come with us, and JJ can come up and spend next weekend here. He was beaming! We were beaming!

While we were at the game, Braden saw one of my ex-students. Whenever he runs into Braden, he starts rough-housing with Braden, which Braden loves. Throwing him in the air, and stuff. Anyway...this kid was throwing Braden in the air, and then missed him coming down and Braden fell and landed wrong on his arm. We had to leave the game at half-time to take Braden to the emergency room. Luckily there were other people from the Home at the game, so we arranged for JJ to ride home with one of them. We went to the hospital, and sure enough, both of the bones in his forearm are broken. I have to take him to the orthopedic guy this afternoon for a cast. He wants a hot pink one.

Now, this is really putting a crimp in my book-group plans. I was planning on spending all day baking/cooking and straightening up. Now I have to drive an hour to the doctors, who knows how long it will take once we're there, and then an hour back. I hope the book group girls don't mind frozen appetizers.

I'll post a picture of Braden and his cast later. Oh, and he's really eating up all the extra attention. "Mom, can you get me this?", "Mom, can you do this for me?" Sadly, it's his right arm, and he's right handed. He just better not ask me to wipe his ass!

Oh my God!

As I'm typing this, my hands are shaking...and, for once, it's because I'm very happy. We were supposed to take JJ with us to Keith's company picnic on Saturday, but due to the "no contact" thing, we couldn't. We already paid for an extra ticket, so he called the supervisor at the home to see if the other boy that came here would be able to go. He told her that JJ was obviously our first choice, but that it would be a shame for the ticket to go to waste, so we'd take Robert if we could. She said that she'd call the Acopian center and see how they were behaving, and maybe one of them could go with us. She actually said one of them! She promised to call back, but we waited all day yesterday, and she didn't call back.

Meanwhile, there's an allstar football game tonight at a local field, and JJ's brother is playing, so we were going to go. Keith called the supervisor back because we didn't hear from her, and he reminded her of the game, and said it would be nice if someone from the home would take JJ to see his brother play. She suggested that we take him! She also said that JJ can go with us on Saturday, and that they're having a meeting next Thursday, and he might be getting out of the Acopian. If he does, she said she'll get the ball rolling on the fostering. Keith said there was more to tell, but he couldn't really talk from work, and he'd tell me later.

I'm so freaking happy I could burst. Braden was jumping up and down screaming out of excitement...and that's exactly what I felt like doing!

Keeping myself busy

 
 
 

This is what I've been doing with all my pent up energy. I moved every piece of furniture in my downstairs. I still want to do what I talked about before, making my kitchen into a family room, but this is what I've been able to do without spending any money. I have to ease Keith into the spending money part. I've made a dining room in part of my family room. Moved all my family room furniture into the front (formerly wasted by that damn piano which is now in my driveway)part of the room. I also got a small kitchen table out of the basement to use in the kitchen for now, and I moved the computer in the kitchen...the computer desk and the kitchen table match. Now, I have to get a different ceiling light for the kitchen, so I can move the table into a corner. I also want to see if I can change the chandeler (?) into one that doesn't have to be direct wired so I can hang it above the dining table now. I also have to get a screen to put behind my tv to hide all the stupid surround sound and satellite wires.
I like the way it is set up now, without so much wasted space in the family room. And, Blu, my kitchen isn't 625 sq feet, it's about 250 sq feet. That's not very big. 

Braden went to an overnight birthday party at Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor waterpark in the Poconos. He had a great time, and now keeps bugging that, "We really have to go there, mom."

Keith is being a pain in the neck about my plans for moving things around. The goddam piano is still where it was. Pretty soon, I'm going to go to a truck stop, dressed like a prostitute, and lure about 6 horny truck drivers here, only to have them move the piano. I have book group here next Friday, and I'd like it done by then.

I bought spray paint and today I'm going to repaint my patio furniture. It's a purple color. We'll see how that turns out. I'll post a picture when I'm finished.

I called the home yesterday, because my "30 days of no contact" was up. I talked to the supervisor at the Acopian where JJ is, and she said she'd check and call me back. She called me back and said, "I just checked with JJ's caseworker, and he said he already told you this, but you're not allowed any contact with JJ until he's out of the Acopian." FIrst of all, I left two messages for the caseworker, and he never called me back, so he never told me this. I asked how long he'd be there, and she said she didn't know. I asked if I could just talk to him on the phone, and she said no. Then, through my tears, I asked how Robert (the other boy we had over) was doing, and she said, "he's a mess." But, that's all she would say. I know it's time to write a letter to the editor, or contact someone else, but I'm afraid to do that without talking to JJ first. You have no idea, but this place is liable to get pissed if I do that, and they'll ship him out of there without blinking an eye. I don't even know if they've told him we're still not allowed to contact him, or if he thinks we just don't care anymore. I can't stop worrying about him. Keith and I made up this plan yesterday to go down there, and we'd each get to beat up the people we like the least. It made me feel good for five minutes.

I don't even know what to call this post...

Today I got a phone call from The Home, saying that due to JJ's deteriorating behaviors, he will not be available for fostering for quite some time. He hasn't done anything major, just a lot of little things to keep getting into trouble. We're still not allowed to have contact with him. I'm very concerned about him...he seems to be caught in this cycle now, and I don't know how to help him break it. Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to share it with him, would I? I'm miserable. I know that if we got him out of there, 80% of his problems would disappear.
But, the guy that called me said that Keith and I are wonderful people (blah blah blah) who are 90% through the fostering program, and would we consider fostering another child? He said he has a list of kids available for fostering right away. My first reaction, to myself, was "No way! We want JJ or no one." But, the more I thought about it, the more I thought about it. I'm sure we could form a bond with another kid, the way we did with JJ - not exactly the same, but a bond of some sort. I keep thinking of all those kids there in that miserable place and I think, "Of course I'll take one." Then I think of what it would do to JJ. Don't you think it would crush him? Plus, when JJ finally gets his shit together (please be soon, please be soon), that means that everyone would have to get along, and two kids would have to share a bedroom. I think I'd feel guilty if I did it, and I'd feel guilty if I didn't. What a quagmire. In my mind, I can just imagine the supervisor I keep pestering at the home about JJ saying to the foster guy, "Find her another goddam kid!" I told the guy that I'd have to discuss it with my husband and I'd get back to him. I did tell him that since I'm home all summer, and we have a pool and two acres of land with lots of things to do, I'd be more than happy to host some of the kids here this summer for visits. I told him if there are kids that don't ever get to go on home visits, or that they feel deserve to go off campus for a treat, I would welcome them here. I thought that was a good compromise.

I'm blushing

Last night, Braden had two friends sleep over. Keith and I went to bed about 10:30, leaving the boys, a movie and an air mattress on the living room floor. I finally gave in to Keith's constant begging, and we had sex. A very short while later, Braden came up and knocked on the door. "Can I come in?" he asked. He came in, kissed us both goodnight, then on his way out the door said, "I hope you know we could hear you. We know what you were doing. We heard the bed squeaking down there." I said that I was just getting a back rub, but I don't think he bought it. I'm dreading them waking up this morning!

School's out for summer!

No more pencils, no more books, no more student's quick left hooks! Well, it's over. Yesterday was my last day of work for the summer, and Braden's last day too. He had his annual "last day of school swim party". There were about 35 kids here and they mostly behaved themselves. I broke up a game of Spin the Bottle in the driveway, and had to give the evil eye to one "couple" that were hanging all over eachother. Other than that, and the rain, the day was a success!

JJ's 30 days isn't up until next Thursday. I wrote an overly polite letter to a supervisor at the home asking to have a meeting with Keith and I and anyone on their end that could answer some questions regarding his fostering. Hopefully I'll get a call early next week. The other boy is allowed to come for a visit this weekend, though. His mom is supposed to come and visit him on Saturday, but she probably won't. She often sets up these visits, then doesn't show up. Isn't he a
cutie? How could you not see him any chance you had?

Renee, in her never-ending quest to drive me out of my mind, has decided that perhaps a career in the nursing field. I swear, if I live long enough to see her settled and happy it will be a miracle. Here she is with my big-boobed bitchy sister.

I'm excited to start my kitchen re-design, but I have to do some things in the family room first. Including getting rid of the 2000 pound piano. Keith doesn't know it yet, but he has a very busy weekend ahead of him.

 

Danger! Danger!

Every once in a while it happens. This urge strikes me. I don't know what it is, but it happens and I have no control over it. I'm never quite happy with the way my furniture is arranged. I always think another way would be better....therefore, I'm constantly changing things around. An end table here, a chair there, or sometimes, all the furniture in any given room. Living room, bedroom, patio, whatever - I just have to move it!

But, every so often I get crazy! Not only do I hate the way everything is arranged, I hate everything I have. That time is now. Keith hates when it's that time. The urge is striking, and here's what I want to do about it.



As you can see by the above picture, my kitchen is sort of divided in two sections. One where the appliances/cabinets and island are, and the other where the table and hutch is. Well, I want to change all that....tell me what you think of my idea.
I want to make my island about 12" deeper (ah, if only Bert were here), so that I can fit 4 stools around it. Then, I want to take my table and hutch and move them to part of my big family room (which has more than enough room to hold them). That would leave the wood-floored-section of my kitchen empty. What I want to do is make it into a little sitting room. I want to get some old, second-hand, comfy chairs or maybe a loveseat and put a tv in there and have it as sort of a gathering spot. For some reason, I'm really into the idea of regular, upholstered furniture in the kitchen. Not only would this look good, in my humble opinion, it would also be practical.

If Braden has a friend over, or JJ's here and they're watching a movie in the family room, Keith and I could sit in there and watch TV without being banished to the bedroom. And, when my family all comes over for holidays and whatnot, they could sit comfortably in there and I can still be part of the conversation while I'm busy in the kitchen.

So tell me, does it sound good?
Oh, and by the way, Hi Susan if you're reading this.

Summer time is here

Counting down the days till the end of the school year. Next Wednesday is the kids' last day, and Thursday is my last day. Braden's done on Thursday too, and is having his annual "last day of school swim party". We're expecting about 35 kids. It better not rain!

JJ's punishment, from the Children's Home, for what he did the other week is that we're not allowed to have any contact with him for 30 days. That makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Also, they moved him back up to the Acopian Center for 30 days. At this rate, we're not going to be able to foster him until freakin August! But, on a lighter note, the other boy we've been trying to sponsor and get to come up was finally able to come for a visit. He came last Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Keith fell immediately in love with him. He's a real sweety. He's only 13, and has a bit of a hyper personality...so, he and Braden got along fabulously and ran around and swam all weekend. Keith was going on and on about him. Don't be surprised if we end up with two foster kids.

The glass tops of both my patio tables got smashed by umbrellas in the wind last fall, so I have my pool all open, and the tables/chairs set up, but no table tops. I can't believe the prices glass places want to charge to make new tops. We actually might be better off buying new tables. I bought plants last weekend for my pots and got them planted.

I saw a new kitchen table that I love, and now I just have to have sex with Keith until he agrees to buy it for me.
Isn't life grand?

They made me proud!

I had Braden's annual IEP meeting yesterday afternoon. Usually, this meeting leaves me with a feeling of "oh no, my son is going to still be living with me when he's 30!" But, not this year.
He met all of the original goals on his IEP (and, while the goals weren't lofty, he still did it). He mastered everything he was taught in his learning support math class, he improved in writing...definitely his weakness. And, in Reading, he scored 97% accuracy at a 7th grade level...and, he's only 6th grade.
So, they're moving him out of learning support reading. He'll still get help with Language Arts and Math. He's moving up a level in science. Social Studies is already completely mixed. His teacher also added that if he has another good year in math like he had this year, he'll be in a regular math class by the following year.
I was practically in shock! Good shock though! And, in conclusion, his special ed teacher told me that she conferred with the whole 6th grade team and their overwhelming conclusion is that Braden is an easy student, because he wants to learn and is so bright and has such a vast background knowledge, that they'll really miss him next year! Isn't that wonderful? (and, don't worry, I did check to make sure they were talking about Braden). Braden was so excited. He actually said to me, "Mom, I'm so proud of myself!" But, I doubt he could possibly be prouder than I am and I told him so.
On the other front, JJ came into school today with his caseworker to discuss what happened last week. He admitted what he said was wrong, admitted to being disrespectufl to the principal because he was mad about being accused of trying to start a riot. He apologized to the principal and agreed that they'd try to work on getting along better. The meeting ended with JJ and the principal shaking hands. I was so proud of him. I told him that he acted like a man and I knew it was hard for him, but he did it and did it well. I told him I was proud of him. He smiled from ear to ear.

Oh woe is me!

I have the house all to myself today. That's normally a good thing. In this case, it's not such a good thing.
Braden's on a scout camping trip to NY to go spelunking and won't be back until mid-afternoon tomorrow. That's a good thing. He'll have a blast, and I'll get a break from feeding him. Keith's working, which is also a good thing because he's taking me out to dinner tonight...he doesn't know it yet, but he is.
JJ was supposed to be here this weekend, but now he's not allowed to come. This is the bad thing. And, the worst part is it's all his fault. On Thursday, him and another boy jokingly, albeit wrongly, made a remark about having a riot at school. They had no intention of actually having one. They had no reason to have one. They didn't tell any other students. JJ is definitely no Norma Rae. Anyway, a staff member overheard them, and reported it to the office (as he should have done). When they questioned JJ about it, he became indignant that they'd think he was really going to start a riot. He refused to explain himself. He would not talk to the principal...who only wanted an explanation. When the day was nearly over, the principal tried to talk to him again and JJ's only response was, "How was your riot?" I tried to talk to him, but he would only say, "I don't have to explain myself to anyone. There was no riot." Then he just completely ignored me. Closed his eyes and wouldn't respond to a thing I said to him. That night he called to say he was sorry for ignoring me, which he added, was a big thing, because he hates to apologize. (And, I know it was a big step for him to do that.) The next morning, the principal gave him one more shot at explaining himself, which the other boy had done and got in no trouble at all. But, JJ dug his heels in and wouldn't say anything. So, now the school is threatening to press charges and he wasn't allowed to come on Friday. He has to go on Monday with his caseworker. Needless to say, he got moved back to the Acopian Center at the home and is allowed to have no contact with me. None. That's the part that makes no sense to me.
If the school goes through with pressing charges, there goes any shot of him coming to live with us. Even if they don't press charges, lord only knows how long they'll postpone the fostering. Now, I know he's definitely wrong here. I don't think he should get off scott free. But, if one of your kids did something stupid like this, I'm sure he would be grounded, at least. But, no matter what the punishment, he'd still be with his family. Feeling loved. Punished, but loved.
One of our favorite staff workers at the Acopian called last night. "Guess who I've got back again?" he asked. "He's not allowed to talk to you, but I thought I'd sneak him a quick phone call," and he put JJ on the phone. Keith told him he was disappointed in him and asked how he was doing. I told him we loved him and he'd better think long and hard about what he was going to say to the principal on Monday. And that there's a lot riding on this so he'd better do what's right. Then I told him that we loved him again.
So, that's how I got a day to myself.

Happy Mother F-er's Day

Last night I went to see the comedian Rich Vos. He was very funny. I laughed so hard at times that the sides of my mouth hurt. In the crowd was a table of some of the people I work with...about four of them and their spouses/girlfriends. They were sitting pretty close to the stage, and one of them yelled something to Rich. Well, that was all it took. He picked on them for the entire night, unmercilessly. I was so glad I didn't sit with them. Plus, I got lots of great ammunition for work on Monday.
Keith and I had a discussion about his, how should I say this nicely, suckiness in the gift buying department. I brought up Christmas and the tickets he got me that he was told specifically not to buy. I brought up my birthday when I was just handed some cash. You know, he constantly teases me about wanting so many things. We'll see something in a magazine, "I would love that," I'll say. We'll be at the mall, "OOoh, now I'd like to have that." Etc. So, buying me a gift should be the easiest thing in the world, but NOOOOOOO! So, last night while I was at the show, he took Braden out shopping. When I came home I saw a Bath and Body Works bag on the table. WTF? He forgot my "NO LOTION NO PJ'S NO APPLIANCE" rule? How imaginative is fucking lotion? But, lest I be thought of as a bitch, I'll say thank you and smile. At least I'll get to go out, because we're taking my mom out for brunch.
Braden has a sleepover tonight, and Keith's working night shift as a favor to a friend, so I have the night alone. Pure bliss. JJ went to Philly to visit his aunt this weekend, as he promised he'd do. I gave him a little cash to pick her up a card. I've worked out an arrangement with his caseworker (the one who never, ever returns my calls). If we want to visit JJ, or have him come here....I call and leave a message. If I dont' hear back from the caseworker, I'm to assume that what ever I requested has been approved. That will definitely work in my favor. I still don't know when the fostering thing will come through, and I haven't heard a word from his Philly caseworker in weeks, and neither has JJ. SHe was so supportive in the beginning. I wonder what's going on there.

::cough cough::

I'm taking the day off tomorrow. I'm feeling a little sick ::wink wink::. It's supposed to be 77 degrees and sunny. I'm going to wipe down my downstairs walls, do some laundry and read in the sun. Sounds good, doesn't it?