14 year old girls = T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

***Disclaimer***
This post was written a while back.  I obviously hesitated in posting it for various reasons.  I had really mixed emotions about posting this.  Keep in mind that this was probably from back sometime in September and things have changed.  Why am I posting this now?  Simply because I feel like there are people out there who may understand where I was coming from when this was written.  Being a parent is never an easy job!


Okay so maybe not ALL 14 year old girls and maybe they aren't trouble ALL the time.

If there is one thing that can be said about me it's that I love my kids!  All of them!  All the time!  Now that doesn't mean we don't have the typical family struggles.  At any given point of a day I'm sure one of them is mad at me.

Today I am only going to talk about kids/parent vs step parenting in general.  I don't need to get into what occurred this past weekend I only need to discuss what it led to.

First some background:

My daughter Kaleigh is 14!  She is such a bright, funny, beautiful, talented kid and I LOVE her!  Yes that is right I love her.  I always have and I always will.  Kaleigh has unfortunately been dealt a crap card in life where her "father" is concerned.  If you look on the about me section you will notice that there is no "bio-dad" in the cast of characters.  There is a reason for this.  Kaleigh's BD (biodad) has never been around very much.  He has always been in and out.  In his words Sunday "more out than in".  In six years my husband has only seen him twice.  I am not saying anything in this blog that he (BD) or she (Kaleigh) doesn't already know so if you are going to bash me for posting this then save it! 

While I was bitter and heartbroken when I was younger I always said Kaleigh needed her father in her life.  I pushed and pushed and then pushed some more for that to happen.  Unfortunately it didn't work.  I can count on one hand what was purchased by him when she was an infant.  I have ALWAYS hated that she didn't have a relationship with him until around 2004 when she was getting ready to start Kindergarten.  I had enough of the back and forth and heartbreak that she endured.  It was hard knowing she was hurting even at that young age and not being able to do a darn thing about it.  I started making demands of my own.  If you want to be in your daughters life then you need to step up but hurt her again and we are done giving chances.  Well that lasted December-January of 2004...

A few years ago he once again wanted to try to have a realtionship with her.  I refused to acknowledge his phone call until my husband told me he believed we should give this a try.  I warned him that I had seen this before (i.e. the I have changed, i'm in a better place).  Larry returned BD's call and made arrangements for him to meet K.  That was in November.  He was gone again by January. 

In June of this year Kaleigh (behind my back) made contact with him and his girlfriend.  I wasn't as angry about the contact as I was that they both were doing this behind my back trying to get around me.  I feel I had a right to be angry.  Kaleigh left for mission trip and I purposely didn't block his number from her phone.  I was waiting to see if he would fight to remain connected.  I bet you can take a guess at what happened...

This brings us to present time.

Sunday Kaleigh did something that broke my heart.  I realize now that it was a cry for help and attention from BD.  Needless to say Larry yet again made that phone call to tell him he needed to be there.  As of where things stand right now Kaleigh will be going to her BD's house this weekend.  I will be honest and tell you that all of this terrifies me.  14 years is a long time to have to go it alone!  Thank God Larry has been there every step of the way.  I don't know what I would do without him.  He is definitely my rock! 

Now i'm trying to find a way to nicely remind girlfriend/future wife that I am her only mother and that will never change.  Any ideas?  I most certainly don't want to come off as snarky as I feel.  As a bonus mom myself I have always tried to do what is right for the kids and Angie and that is NEVER easy.  Now the role is reversed and i'm struggling with it.

Oh sickness how I loathe you...

Yup it is official!  I have now been sick since October.  I cannot believe how bad it is and how the anti-biotics just aren't working.  Now my ear has been clogged for 3 weeks.  I literally can't hear anything out of it.

Hopefully this post finds the rest of you happy and healthy in this new year!

Just chillin' with my heating pad and Chandler!

Life goes on and on and on...

Today is January 4th and the first time I have written on this blog since November 9th of 2012.  Well here we are in 2013 and I can't say that the year has started off great.  Most who know me will know that every winter I get a nasty cough that lasts for months.  Couple that with a sinus infection that I can't seem to kick and you get mass agony!  I would love to continue to bore you with the details of said infection but I will leave it alone...for now! 

I want to become better about blogging this year.  I say that probably every year but this time I mean it.  I love how I can look back at the end of last year and remember all of those good, bad and even sad times.  This year I want to start off with some goals that I would like to see happen in my life.  Some goals will be things that I want to purchase or change with the house but other goals will be personal goals that I would like to fill.  This post will be edited throughout the year I am sure as my priorities change.  So...here we go!

1. Wake up each morning and say prayer.
2. Finally start decorating the house.
1. Find pictures for the new frame mom bought me - Need two more photos to complete this project
2. Hang frame once pictures are found.
3. Hang our "Price" alphabet photo
4. Purchase sofa table for living room
5. Buy computer desk & printer
6. Re-Organize our bedroom
3. Get the kids involved in more activities.
1. Tyler basketball  - Tyler has already started basketball and is playing in two leagues
2. Chase basketball - Registered and starts Saturday the 26th of Jan
3. Chandler basketball - Registered and starts Saturday the 26th of Jan
4. Briana dance classes - Has changed her mind and is undecided
5. Kaleigh vocal lessons/piano lessons
6. Larry wrestling
7. Chandler Hockey - Has been registered and starts March 16th
8. Chase/Chandler/Larry Tackle Football
4. Spend more one-on-one time with each of my kids. - I was able to spend some great one on one time with Chandler while I was recovering from my surgery and I was sad that it had to come to an end.  He is such a sweet boy!  This weekend I was able to get some one on one with Chase while the other kids were elsewhere we went and got an ice cream cone!
5. Become more proficient with Photoshop - This is a work in progress!
6. Purchase off camera flash
7. Learn how to use off camera flash - This is another work in progress!  Loving it so far!

Well I will leave this list for now and think about it some more.  These were just some of the first priorities that came to mind.  I plan on having plenty more to add.