Santa Party

The kids are invited to a Santa Party every year. Jonathan is too old, but I took the little ones. They had fun. Santa brought Jake a REAL gumball machine (he was SO excited, stating "that's the EXACT- I mean the EXACT gumball machine I wanted! It's like Santa knew!") So cute and innocently stated. Jayden got a pedicure set. She went right up to Santa and just sat there and posed for the camera- very cute. She then sat patiently waiting to open her gift (each kid sat on Santa and then they all opened at once at the end). This was the second night the kids spent the night with their dad, so it was a sad night for me. I had to drop them at his house afterwards. I have only ever spent 3 nights away from them their entire lives, so it is heart- wrenching to drop them off. Jon didn't even come to the door. Just let Jonathan bring them in his house.

Painting

When Jon moved his stuff out, we had a lot more room. He took up about two thirds of our just over 1000 sq. foot home with all his "treasures" - and "his" room was the biggest of the 2 bedrooms. I hadn't even realized just how much bigger his room was, as it was crammed full of books, etc. literally from floor to ceiling and you could barely walk through the door. But... in fact, it is quite a big bedroom. So... we decided to move the 2 little kids to that room and have Jonathan (who is 12) finally have a room to himself. Another year(?) on the couch for me, but I am happy to FINALLY give the kids fun rooms/ a space to call their own... Here are some pix of the kids painting. You wouldn't have believed how filthy that room was. Kate and I worked SO hard that Thanksgiving weekend. One night/ morning, I even fell asleep on the floor at 4 am. I can't believe she wasted several of her precious few vacation days to come and work like a dog. Thank you Katie!!!!!!!!! Have some projects ready for me to do for you this summer when we visit! In the last pix, Jonathan was making pancakes. Kate and I thought it was so sweet- and then when it was time to eat he announced that he only made enough for the kids! We were disappointed at first, but it was probably a blessing in disguise, as his pancakes were part burnt/ part oozing batter... Nummy! Not even he could eat them!

Thanksgiving

My sister Katie came to visit from NC and Jon finally moved out. After 13 years of being treated like dirt (really 20 if you count the pre marriage years), it is a relief to be rid of him- at least physically. So.. what I am most thankful for this year is that I FINALLY got fed up enough to stand up for myself and to refuse to put up with all his mind games and emotional abuse. It is going to be a hard road ahead, but I am confident I made the right choice for my kids and myself. I don't want my boys to grow up thinking that how their dad has treated me is how to treat a woman. Jake already tells me that it's a girls job to do everything while boys just sit around on their duffs. He is only 7, but this has been modeled to him for years, and sadly is how he really feels. I must change this. For Jayden, I want her to be confident and strong. I don't want her to stand for anything less than the best. I want her to find a man who respects her and loves her and honors her and helps her. Something I DEFINITELY did not get.

I am SO thankful to have 3 wonderful kids. I have raised them almost entirely on my own and am so proud of them! I have had sooooo much fun watching them grow and change. (It TRULY breaks my heart to put them through this divorce. I hope some day when they are adults they will understand that this had to be done- and that I tried so hard to make things work... but in the end it takes 2 people and I couldn't do it on my own).

I am also thankful for my family and friends who have been so incredibly supportive and caring. I love you all!

Back to Thanksgiving... Jonathan wanted to play football, so we headed to my school and played for awhile. It was more fun than I thought, although I totally wiped out while running in for a touchdown. I now have a new appreciation for football players! Jayden played, too. Kate and I stood by her whenever possible, as we knew Jonathan would "go easy on us" if his little sister was in the way! He still creamed us, though! ( Jake was off looking for lizards in the rock beds, of course!)

We had a big turkey dinner when we came home and then the kids watched TV/ played video games on the new big screen TV my family got us for Christmas. Kate and I continued our massive power clean (see next blog).

Deception Pass

Jake, Jayden and I went to Deception Pass for the day about a month ago. Jake is so into critters and was trying to catch frogs/ lizards, or whatever would come his way. No luck today- just a dead turtle. Notice the shorts... that's a new phase this fall, He refuses to wear pants, as they are reportedly not comfy enough- ugh! And he was always my one that got cold the easiest... Jayden and I played Hide and Seek by the big trees. I acted surprised when I'd find her or she'd find me and she'd laugh hysterically. She is hilarious!

Cub Scout Pinewood Derby

The Pinewood Derby is an annual scouting event. Jake's car got a design medal, but wasn't very fast. Luckily, he doesn't really care too much about winning and had fun anyway. Jayden painted over her car from last year. It started out a brilliant blue. Then I left the room for a few minutes only to find it a "brilliant" brown (or like diarrhea as the boys said...). She later put on a bunch of huge Pooh stickers that were too big for the car and hung off the edges. Her car literally stuck to the track! I had to laugh. She didn't care, though, and was just happy to participate! The pix are of the actual derby and the derby trials (the night before).

Angel...or Devil???

Jayden's daycare provider Melissa loaned Jayden this costume. I had an angel costume already and thought it would be fun to take a pix of her in each costume. And... I'm happy to say she is MUCH more of an angel than a lil' devil (although she does have her moments!!) I have noticed her maturing more lately- being a bit less stubborn and demanding. She comes up and hugs me lots, reminding me that "I'm your Tweetie Bird" or saying "Me love you" (I keep reminding her it's "I" not "me", but who can be picky when getting such a compliment!!!)

Chuck E. Cheese Visit

I met my friend Lisa at Chuck E. Cheese back in November (I'm way behind...). Finally Jayden isn't afraid of Chuck E.!!!