3 Boys and a Mom - Diary of a Tagteam

OMG he's a fricking lunatic!!!! He just called me and said - "just for the record - no phone call I make other plans"... Ummmm ok but you have plans with the boys on Sunday - no they haven't called... WTF???!!!!! - Deven has talked to his dad twice about them going to Six Flags and E's talked to me a couple more times so how can he say they haven't talked to him to make plans??? The boys are even bringing a friend and they HAVE talked to E about it... You know I hate the games he plays - he's really really immature and in the end the boys are gonna be the ones to get short changed for now then in the future they are gonna see him for what he really is... It's sad too....

YEAH it's FRIDAY!!!! Thank god too cause I need a day off - I have been dealing with trashing boxes of old filing and man I am ITCHY!! VERY VERY ITCHY!!! I hate paper mites!!! Atleast I am making progress on the job - just not as quickly as I would like but I am slightly at the mercy of others, slightly p.o'd cause the swing shift girl was supposed to be doing this for months now and hasn't done jack... But it's getting done FINALLY just slowly...

Tonight we are going to Six Flags for opening night!! The boys and I are excited.. Tomorrow is the final day of bowling and this round of Karate - Dilen gets his next belt or stripe - dunno for sure yet... Then we are doing the town egg hunt in the afternoon...

Sunday Asshat is taking the boys to Six Flags cause I got him a free ticket for the day... Of course he's being a jerk about who is supplying the $$ for food/games - ummmm you can do that asswipe - it's not like you do much else other then give me a hard time!! ANYWAY - remember his crap Weds during the day - and I commented he would be calling next day all cheerful like nothing had happened - if you placed bets that I was right you would be rich right now... That evening he called me to come pick up the child support and was all sweet and nice... Even yesterday a brief call was polite... He's just a major IDIOT I swear!! But great for the entertainment factor! *L*

My friend Skip passed away this morning - don't know much else yet... I just hope he's in a much better place... Til next time...

This is VERY MUCH something that I could picture my kids doing! *L*

http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_086201948.html

Boy, 3, Gets Stuck Inside Toy Vending Machine

(AP) Austin, Minn. Devin Haskin isn't the first little boy to find the inside of a toy machine too enticing to resist. When the 3-year-old Austin, Minn. boy crawled through the discharge chute of a Toy Chest claw machine at a Godfather's Pizza here, he ended up on the other side of the glass surrounded by stuffed animals. Rescuers had to pry the door open to get Devin out, though the boy was in no hurry to leave. "When we got it open, he didn't want to come out," Fire Chief Dan Wilson said Tuesday. "One of my firefighters had to reach inside and get him. He was happy in there." Two years ago, a boy crawled inside a toy machine at a Piggly Wiggly in Sheboygan, Wis., and was rescued with the help of a locksmith. Last year, a toddler climbed into a toy machine at a Wal-Mart in Elkhart, Ind. Workers used tools to free the boy. Ron Morocco, chief executive of Rock Management & Associates, a Spirit Lake, Iowa, company that owns the Godfather's restaurant in Austin, said the machine would be removed until the company talked to the manufacturer. "We're very happy the young boy wasn't hurt," he said. An official with Smart Industries Corp., a Des Moines company that makes the toy machine Devin crawled into, didn't immediately return a phone message Tuesday. To use the toy machine, a player tries to grasp stuffed animals and other toys behind the glass by manipulating overhead claws. Devin's mother, Heidi Haskin, declined to be interviewed Tuesday. Wilson said there was a lot of activity at Godfather's on Sunday when the boy got inside the machine. He estimated that 75 to 100 people were in the restaurant when rescuers arrived and that three birthday parties were taking place. But there was plenty of air in the machine and people were taking pictures of Devin. He said the gap Devin squeezed through was about 7 inches by 9 inches.

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Hey have I ever told y'all that E is an asshole??? YEAP He sure is!! Yesterday he is all nice and kind when he calls in the morning then in the afternoon after he's had a few he calls back and is giving me a hard time about Dilen saying he's not allowed to use the phone, there is no phone in his room anymore and he's not allowed in my room when I am not home... Ummmm he is free to use the phone to call, yes there IS a phone in his room (the jack is there) but we went cordless for $10 so the handset is usually in LR and no he's NOT allowed in my room when I am not home - rarely when I AM home for that matter - it's MY room - MY sancuary.... E then proceeds to attempt to ream me for all this - why weren't the kids kept out of the room when he was there and had that rule, what's so special about me? and tells me that as long as he's paying for things Dilen call him whenever on whatever he wants... Ummmm buddy your little chump change that you EVENTUALLY give me each month doesn't pay for everything - doesn't even come close - hell it doesn't even pay for Ethen's daycare in full so don't go tell me how I am going to run MY house.... I just hung up on him repeatedly (don't know it's him til I answer)... Well instead of getting the message that I will NOT be talked to/yelled at like that he calls back with MORE threats - 1st it's that he's gonna call my boss and the general, etc to get me in trouble and then later it's that he's not gonna pay me the support he agreed to (whatever I really don't count on it anyway!) to he's not gonna be taking the kids anywhere/coming to see them to telling me to NEVER call him again.... Hey if you are that ignorant enough to put the kids in the middle and "punish them" because you can't control me then you don't deserve to see them anyway! and hey no sweat off my back not calling you ever again but isn't funny that HE calls ME??? Just today he calls me here at office (AGAIN!) and asks if I am done being rude and am I going to apologize - ummm for what?? I didn't think I was being rude.... He says I was... Soo I very business like ask him - Is there something I can do for you?? He replies "I guess not" and hung up - haven't heard from him since!! YEAH!! Sadly though he will be calling me again tonight or tomorrow once he sobers up a bit and will act like all is well... WHATEVER!! I just continue to live on and make plans as if he doesn't exist!!! Of course it all makes for great entertainment here in the office! *LOL*

Sooo now that I am done with that vent I feel better... Now on to Dilen - who managed to get marked absent yesterday because apparently he dawdled long enough walking from cafeteria to room after breakfast to miss morning head count - although he claims he was in his room but teacher missed him... Who knows - maybe she did.... The boy DOES move slow as molasses some days.... Teacher didn't comment on it though....

We are gearing up for Friday evening - Six Flags opens and I am gonna take the boys!! We are all very excited to be going - I enjoy doing family type things like amusment parks with the boys now that they are older...

Well - I am busy busy here at work doing someone else's job - better get back to it!!! Til next time...

Sooo I am sitting here talking with a co-worker... Another friend of ours that we would see and chat with daily hasn't been in for about 2 wks now... Last we heard directly from him was he didn't feel well, was in some pain and had a doc appt... We hadn't seen him since... Just found out he's NOT coming back - he has pancreatic cancer and probably WON"T make it the week... Just seems so unfair - he's a vibrant man who had plans of retiring before the year end...

God bless you Skip... {{HUGS}}

Ohhh and Graceland is now a National Historic Landmark!! YEAH!! I soo want to go there someday with the boys - Deven has an interest in Elvis for some reason - I am thinking of getting him a couple of Elvis's CDs for his birthday...

Kids' Music Soars to Top of Charts
Updated 9:31 AM ET March 28, 2006

The music industry increasingly looks to cash in on music made for children who are beyond Barney but not quite ready for Beyonce.

The top-selling Kidz Bop series offers kid-friendly versions of adult hits. Co-founder Cliff Chenfeld said the group has sold 7 million copies in less than five years. And he added that it's not just kids who are listening.

Disney's made-for-TV movie "High School Musical" is a runaway hit with children between ages 6 and 12 who have watched it multiple times. The soundtrack has spent five weeks on the Billboard Top 10.

"I think the music has to have somewhat of an appeal to the parents now," Chenfeld said. "We're kinda past the day where parents were kind of buying kids music, giving it to them and not even knowing what they're listening to."

And parents are one group still buying music on CDs, not just downloading it.

Climbing the Charts

This year album sales across the board are down about 2 percent. But children's music is on fire -- sales are up nearly 60 percent.

Ralph Covert used to play in a Chicago rock band. He still sells out at hip clubs, but his fan base is a whole lot younger.

"I'm not trying to dumb it down, you know?" Covert said. "In a sense, I'm trying to smarten it up. And the parents end up enjoying it as much as the kids."

Established musicians see a lucrative market. Parents who enjoy Jack Johnson have picked up his new "Curious George" soundtrack while shopping at Whole Foods. And folk singer Laurie Berkner's latest CD is on sale at Starbucks.

"In my car, I've got like five CDs," one parent told ABC News. "Four are Laurie Berkner CDs and one Springsteen CD."

And remember the '80s band Devo? Children of their fans can now listen to Devo 2.0, updated for young listeners.

"There's always kids," Chenfeld said, "and they always like music."

And, as long as the parents like it too, these albums are as good as gold.

ABC News' Kate Snow reported this story for "World News Tonight."

Yeap!! This is my life - we have Toddler Favorites, Dance in Your Pants, Veggie Tales and Winnie the Pooh music for our car!! Here I thought I was an odd duck because my kids listen to this instead of "today's" music.... Turns out I am in the "IN" crowd!! Wooo hoooo!!!

While it's still not completely settled this was a great headline to read this afternoon -

Afghan Court Drops Case Against Christian
Updated 4:30 PM ET March 26, 2006
An Afghan court on Sunday dismissed a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity because of a lack of evidence and he will be released soon, officials said.
The announcement came as U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai faced mounting foreign pressure to free Abdul Rahman, a move that risked angering Muslim clerics here who have called for him to be killed.
An official closely involved with the case told The Associated Press that it had been returned to the prosecutors for more investigation, but that in the meantime, Rahman would be released.
"The court dismissed today the case against Abdul Rahman for a lack of information and a lot of legal gaps in the case," the official said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
"The decision about his release will be taken possibly tomorrow," the official added. "They don't have to keep him in jail while the attorney general is looking into the case."
Abdul Wakil Omeri, a spokesman for the Supreme Court, confirmed that the case had been dismissed because of "problems with the prosecutors' evidence."
He said several of Rahman's family members have testified that the 41-year-old has mental problems. "It is the job of the attorney general's office to decide if he is mentally fit to stand trial," he told AP.
A Western diplomat, also declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the case, said questions were being raised as to whether Rahman would stay in Afghanistan or go into exile in a foreign country.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she could not confirm that an Afghan court had dismissed the case and stressed the U.S. needs to respect the sovereignty of Afghanistan, which she called a "young democracy."
"We have our history of conflicts that had to be worked out after a new constitution. And so the Afghans are working on it. But America has stood solidly for religious freedom as a bedrock, the bedrock, of democracy, and we'll see." Rice said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Asked if American Christian missionaries should be encouraged to go to Afghanistan, Rice said: "I think that Afghans are pleased to get the help that they can get" but added "we need to be respectful of Afghan sovereignty."
Rahman has been prosecuted under Afghanistan's Islamic laws for converting 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan. He was arrested last month and charged with apostasy.
Muslim clerics had threatened to incite Afghans to kill Rahman if the government freed him. They said he clearly violated Islamic Shariah law by rejecting Islam.
The case against Rahman put Karzai in an awkward position.
While the U.S., Britain and other countries that prop-up his government have demanded the trial be dropped, Karzai has had to be careful not to offend Islamic sensibilities at home and alienate religious conservatives who wield considerable power.
Rahman had been held at a detention facility in central Kabul since his arrest, but he was moved to the notorious Policharki Prison just outside Kabul on Friday after threats were made against him by other inmates, prison warden Gen. Shahmir Amirpur told AP.
Policharki, a high-security prison housing some 2,000 inmates, including about 350 Taliban and al-Qaida militants who were blamed for inciting a riot there late last month that killed six people.
"We are watching him constantly. This is a very sensitive case so he needs high security," he said in an interview in his office in a crumbling building inside the jail.
Rahman is being held in a cell by himself next to the office of a senior prison guard, the warden said. He showed the AP the outside of Rahman's cell door, but refused to allow reporters to speak to him or see him.
He said Rahman had been asking guards for a Bible but that they did not have any to give him.
Rahman, meanwhile, said he was fully aware of his choice and was ready to die for it, according to an interview published Sunday in an Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
"I am serene. I have full awareness of what I have chosen. If I must die, I will die," Abdul Rahman told the Rome daily, responding to questions sent to him via a human rights worker who visited him in prison.
"Somebody, a long time ago, did it for all of us," he added in a clear reference to Jesus.
Rahman also told the Italian newspaper that his family including his ex-wife and teenage daughters reported him to the authorities three weeks ago.
He said he made his choice to become a Christian "in small steps," after he left Afghanistan 16 years ago. He moved to Pakistan, then Germany. He tried to get a visa in Belgium.
"In Peshawar I worked for a humanitarian organization. They were Catholics," Rahman said. "I started talking to them about religion, I read the Bible, it opened my heart and my mind."

Somehow I don't think it would have been good for anyone if the story had turned out any different....

Sooo he's walking!!! He's still a little shakey but he's walking!! Next thing you know he'll be running marathons....

Dilen is sick today... Started last night when he threw up, then he had diarreah.... Today he had it so bad he messed himself trying to get to the bathroom... It reminds me a bit of the ROTAVIRUS smell - I have him on lockdown at home with a BRAT style diet.... and of course doing lots of laundry and LYSOL spraying... Yesterday morning Dilen tested for his yellow belt in karate... I think he did very well but we won't know if he got a yellow or a double high white til next week.... Next week is the last week of karate for Dilen and bowling for Deven... Speaking of bowling Deven did very well with a 71 this week - this year he's been bowling without the bumpers and honestly he's been doing pretty good... After next Saturday we are off for a couple weeks then the boys will start up karate again on Saturdays....

Not too much else going on.... I am back on the weight watching wagon so to speak... I fell off HARD back in early Feb when Ethen got sick and I have GOT to get back on and quickly... We shall see how it goes... Now that I am making progress in the house I am going to take a little time for ME in the evenings... Plus the weather is getting nicer so we can go for a nice walk when I get home from work.... I am sitting here at the office goofing off so I better get moving on my to do list... Til next time...

Ethen has a molar!!! And we have another coming in on the other side... He's growing WAY too fast.... and while we are on the tooth topic - I cracked my bridge last night so I need to call dentist - it's only a temporary one that was put in 2.5 yrs ago *blush* I hope they still have the permanent one... add to that I have been having these funny tooth pains like I have a cavity or something on a couple teeth UGH!! I am so NOT having fun... Other than all that things are going well.. Ethen is starting to walk - he's taking more and more steps on his own and he loves to push around his walker/push toys... We haven't been too sick lately and the atmosphere is calm... Things are good... Til next time...

And of course there is this incentive to get up for work each day - 100-year-old decides it’s time to retire - L.A. transit worker missed just one day of work in 75 years

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11964284/ My god I can't even imagine working another 22 years or so here and retiring at age 59 let alone being 100 and still working every day! God bless him!!!

Ya ever wonder what this world is coming to??? Here's an interesting article I found on MSNBC --
Mississippi outlaws s*x toys (Dan Abrams)

There is a landmark legal battle of constitutional proportions being fought down in Mississippi. It involves fundamental rights protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments, not to mention the rights of certain small business owners to satisfy their customers. This week, another court refused to recognize Mississippians’ right to find companionship for 29.99 and so a law outlawing the sale of s*x toys will stand.
“A person commits the offense of distributing unlawful s*xual devices when he knowingly sells, advertises, publishes or exhibits to any person any three-dimensional device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human g*nital organs or offers to do so or possesses such devices with the intent to do so.”
Well, I am glad to see that the local legislators are focusing on the most pressing issues of the day. I’ve long believed that a three-dimensional, possibly battery-operated device is far more menacing than a handgun. In Mississippi, people can buy guns at a gun show with no background check and certain weapons can be carried almost anywhere. Sure, guns and toys can bring joy and a sense of comfort to the user, but apparently the legislators concluded that a g*nital replica is a far greater threat to society.
This, from a state that levies only an 18-cent tax on cigarettes, 55 cents below the national average and where 62 percent of residents are overweight, making it the fattest state in the country. Yet still the public schools don’t make gym class compulsory. Mississippi’s laws would make you believe s*x is the single greatest threat to public safety and well-being. After all, it’s illegal in Mississippi to have s*x with someone you’re not married to or to live with someone other than your spouse.
Both can result in a $500 fine and six months in jail. And men are not permitted to be @roused in public. But at least good people are protected from the disfigurement that could result from an accidental electrical overload from a defective toy.
Georgia and Texas have passed similar bans and courts have repeatedly ruled the legislators have the power to do it. I guess the Second Amendment doesn’t say anything about the right to bear a stimulation device.
But the s*x activists are not closing up shop in the South Pole just yet. They formed a lobbying group based in Florida called the National Alliance of Adult Trade Organizations or NAATO. Not, of course, to be confused with the other NATO, which is based in Brussels.
I don’t mean to pick on Mississippi. I love the state and the people, but I just don’t get why the legislators are fighting so hard for this law. We’re talking about adults here. It’s not that I really care about ensuring that these toys are ready accessible. Really. It’s just that you have to wonder, is one of these toys really a greater threat to the community than what real live people do to each other every day?

Edited to discourage perv searches.... Still strikes me that sometimes we have the oddest values and pre-occupations in this country....

Well I have managed to get quite a bit of housework started... I have managed to fold, sort and hang all but 1 bucket of clothes and I have a bucket ready to be donated.. We got the tarp covering over the mudroom roof as a fix for the leaks and it works well!! I started to clean the boys room too!!! Slowly but surely I am making progress... E is still a MAJOR asshole - how can ANY ONE talk nicely to me and then call me back an hour later screaming at me and expect me to be nice and kind and lovely to him??? THEN he calls back later and acts like nothing is wrong... I am soo over that!!!! ESP after he's called my job REPEATEDLY and aggrevates me and keeps calling back - tells me his main goal for the day is to get me FIRED!! Now I give him ONE call - if he starts his crap then after I hang up if he calls back again I will hang up IMMEDIATELY after seeing it's his number on the caller id!!! I am just soooo behind letting him get to me MOST days.... Yesterday he couldn't manage to go buy diapers, wipes and maybe a can of formula to deal w/the baby all day!!! I had sent 2 bottles and he managed to drink them by 11 am (still working on that one cause he never does that at home or sitter!) then we forgot to give him diapers... Do you think he figured out that he could go to store and buy a small pack??? NOOOO He calls me to give me crap!!! I just went and got the baby and took back to my mom for the afternoon - quieter that way... I think even Deven is starting to see things as they are cause he didn't want to go with Daddy this weekend... Stayed home with my mom yesterday by request!!

The weather is turning nice again and I am looking forward to opening up the windows and just sweeping the whole house out!!! Work is good and I have gotten back on the diet/healthly living wagon.. I really need to drop about 30 lbs... HOPEFULLY I can do that before June... Just gonna take things one day at a time... Well it's time go get Ethen - WHO is starting to walk!!! He is taking more and more unassisted steps and he can crawl UP on the couch and is so proud of himself!!! I even caught him trying to climb ON his Intellitable with a big grin on his face!! Silly boy!!! Ok time to head out - I need to stop at the store quickly on my way to get Ethen... Til next time....

Eric is an asshole, Ethen is doing ok at the new daycare, bigger boys are doing well - I have a teacher conference for Dilen on Thurs - asking for Child Study eval... I am doing ok - finally back on my meds on a daily basis and starting to feel a BIT better... Work is good... Eric is an asshole... Boys need haircuts - taking them tonight - hopefully pics tomorrow... Almost time to go... {{HUGS}} Til next time...