Filed under: Living the Step Life
I’ve not really decided how much I’m going to post about this issue, but I think there are things that might help others that are in my situation.
I met and married the man of my dreams. As I was growing up, I didn’t see HOW my finding this man would happen, but I found him. Husband had been married before and had 2 children in that marriage. This marriage ended because of infidelity on the EX WIFE’s part. Husband tried to make it work, even after finding out, but EX WIFE didn’t want to work it out. Instead, she took his children, saying at first she would be reasonable, but went back on her word, once again!
Anyway, I knew all this before I married my Dear Husband (DH), and I was okay with it. He was not this terrible person that she had in her view of him. I won’t get into all the details, and I am writing a book about all this, so in about 5 years, I’ll get my book written and post it. HA!
My DH is a wonderful man, loving father, loving husband, and a hardworker. We have struggled most of our life together, not being able to afford the lavous vacation that his other kids have enjoyed, but we are happy and love each other very much.
We have 2 wonderful children that we just love to death. DH was very hesitant in having children again, in fear that he might not see them grow up either. Once he realized that I wasn’t like his EX WIFE, then he let himself love again and let himself believe he could be happy. And so we are!
My struggles in step-life haven’t been getting along with his children, rather to tolerate and try to get along with his EX WIFE. We don’t see his children, and we rarely hear from them unless it’s his birthday. DH calls them on holidays, birthdays and sometimes in between. This is our life and SHE will not allow anymore contact than that, except for snail mail letters that we never know if SHE lets them read or not.
Lately, things have been quiet (I’m knocking on wood now!), but we are wondering why we are having issues with their dental care at the current moment. We never know when they visit the doctor, or go to the dentist until we receive the EOB. The most current problem is that we’ve sent 2 checks to the dentist they go to. This is money that was reimbursed by the insurance company and sent to my DH, and he in turn wrote a check and sent it to the dentist. They have not cashed them, and the first one was sent in March.
I find it frustrating that SHE doesn’t use in-network providers so they would get payment and it wouldn’t be sent to us. I find it frustrating that SHE didn’t update the insurance, or follow-up with the dentist on their visits and that an entire year has passed and the supplemental insurance we carry won’t pay for their visits. I find it frustrating that SHE believes it’s all his fault for some reason.
I won’t go on any longer, because frankly, she’s not worth my time or energy. I would just like to post from time to time about my step-life. Not to complain, just to vent or voice my frustration. I love my husband and I wouldn’t change my life at all. I just wish other people (HER), would just move on and let him see his children and just be more civil towards us. Personally, I think she’s jealous of our life together, even though we don’t have much, but she’s still single (dating same man for a LONG time) and doesn’t seem like a very happy person.
Filed under: Weight Loss Journal
You know, I should’ve been better while inlaws were in, and I should’ve done better the week before, but I just didn’t. I seem to be stuck, bouncing back and forth a pound every week. It’s just getting me frustrated right now.
I’ve cut out a lot of fatty cooking. We eat rather healthy, but the past couple weeks we’ve eaten out a lot. I did good at the beginning, but those fries love me!
So, now that I’m getting back on track and planning our summer activities, I should be able to follow my diet a little better. It’s not really a diet, because I don’t limit my choices of foods, just how much of them I eat. My body is use to the smaller portions now, so that’s not a problem, it’s just getting a variety going and not eating the same thing over and over. My mom is going to copy some stuff for me and when I go visit her I’ll get a chance to look it over to see what I want recipes for and what might work for my family.
While I’m back home, I plan to go for walks up the hill with Winks, and Scoober if he wants. I’ll endulge on the huge family day once a week.
I am going to see a Urologist soon to see if they can give me some exercises that I can do. I had a hernia taken out when I had Winks that was rather large, and the doctors there told me I could NEVER lift more than 20 lbs for the REST of my life. I think that’s a little extreme, so I want to go in and talk to a doctor here, now that I’m 7 months post operation. Plus, I’m going to have them look at my stomach and see if they can fix my deformed belly. If not, then I see a tummy tuck in my future, after we get some things paid off.
Well, it’s been a WHILE since I last posted. I was working on cleaning our house, helping Scoober prepare for school being out and his birthday, and preparing for my inlaws visit during this time.
Good news is, that we made it! Scoober finished Kindergarten and is on to the 1st grade. If he could start 1st grade tomorrow, he would!
Scoober also turned 6 on the last day of school, so we made a treat to take to school so he could celebrate with all his classmates. His list of invites that he wanted to come to the house was so large, that we compromised with a celebration at school! 
That night, we had a celebration at home, as well. It ended up just being family, as the other couple guests we invited had some emergencies come about. We had fun and Scoober had a great time!
I also made his cake, which his request was a Lego cake. It was interesting to say the least, but I think I captured the spirit of a Lego block.
Husband was off all week, so he got to enjoy some bonding time with Winks. They are best buds now! It was also some much needed family time. With Scoober being out of school, and the inlaws in, we enjoyed a couple day trips.
We first went to ToysRus, that ended up taking all afternoon because of the traffic, but after we got there Scoober used his birthday money, and his Gift card of $3.00 off from the Jeffery Birthday Club to buy a Lego Service Station that he has been wanting. Because it was so late in the afternoon, and it was going to be 6:30pm before we got home, we opted to eat out at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Downtown Denver. We got there before they got busy, so we got our table right away. When we left, it was packed. Scoober got a balloon shaped like a Giraffe from a girl that was doing them in the restaurant. She wasn’t very good, but Scoober didn’t mind. When we left, and started driving back home, we passed Coors Field. I didn’t know that it was in downtown Denver. The Rockies were playing the Mets, and if we had the money, we probably would’ve bought those 3rd base tickets the guy was selling on the street!
The next day trip we visited the Celestial Seasonings plant in Boulder, CO. They have a cafe, but because it was the Memorial Day weekend (Sat), they weren’t open. We enjoyed looking through the gift shop. They also had plant tours, but wheelchairs and strollers weren’t allowed, so we didnt’ do that. The gift shop had all kind of stuff. I got a few types of tea, and some sinus relieving smelling pouches, that have worked wonders for my allergies when I get stuffed up. I’m going to bring it to KY for my parents to try. Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law enjoyed this trip.
The next day trip we went to the Botanical Gardens in Downtown Denver. Who knew that something this HUGE would be in the middle of a big city. It was a cool day, but the rain held off for us to enjoy it. Scoober even seemed to enjoy it! Winks just kept looking around and never did fall asleep.
We are now planning our summer activities. Scoober is going to be earning allowance for chores that we will put a money value on; we’ll have free movies at the movie theater that we can go see; he got a library card; the pool is open behind our house; and we will go at least once a week to the park and walk to his school to shoot hoops.
Winks is almost sitting up on her own now, but she still topples over, so we have to have a hand on her. She is enjoying hearing her voice and she’s working on her next set of teeth that seem to be bothering her.
We are flying out east in a few weeks, so I’m mentally preparing for that trip with 2 kids. Scoober loves to fly, so I’m not so much worried about him. Winks I think will do okay, but of course I’m the only one worried about all this, I think.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. Seems like there is never enough time in the day to do everything I want to do.
We were able to get some yard work done. Our grass needs some serious TLC, so we are diligently working on that. Husband mowed it and it looks cleaned up, but it’s not green. The bark we bought for the front and the surrounding trees and shrubs makes it look really nice. Plus, we put a border around the tree, too. We are getting rain and snow the next couple days, so that will help it green up a little hopefully.
I had a nice Mother’s Day. Scoober and Husband made me breakfast, eggs and applesauce. Husband did a great job cooking the eggs, and Scoober did a great job supervising. Scoober also made me a nice card and thanked me for all I do from him and Winks. It was really cute. Then he gave me an Ironman tattoo. 
Scoober had a field trip today. They went to the zoo. He was gone ALL DAY, which is a treat for me because he’s usually only gone 1/2 day. I got a glimpse of what my life will be like when he starts 1st grade next year. He had a lot of fun. He even ate his entire lunch I made him; peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, juice box and some pretzels. I also packed him 2 bottles of water, which he drank. He’s starting to eat a LOT lately, so he must be growing.
Winks got her first tooth today. She’s 6 months and 2 weeks now. Seems like yesterday Scoober was that size. He’s going to be 6 next week.
Well, I celebrate the grand age of 35 this coming Friday. I checked out my hair the other day and boy do I have a lot more gray hair! If it starts looking too light, I’m going to have to start dying my hair!
Since both kids are in bed, I guess I should pack up Husband’s lunch and make my tea and head to bed myself.
Today it’s even harder to shop frugally and find bargains, and have enough to feed our families. Personally, I try to be as frugal as possible, but I’m still learning. My mother is VERY good at it and seems to stretch a dollar further than you could imagine. With 3 of us growing up, she had to find ways to feed everyone without breaking the bank.
Now, I have 4 people to feed, including myself. Winks is just 6 months old, but she’s starting on baby food and she’ll soon be joining us. I budget $400/mo for food, toiletries, etc.
Today I decided that I would go to Wal-Mart for all my shopping needs. I usually go to either King Soopers (Kroger partner) or to Safeway. Both stores had attractive sales, but if you don’t buy their sale items, everything else seems to be much higher than Wal-Mart. So, off to Wal-mart I went. Guess what? I spent about $50 to $60 less!
Now, I bought some items that weren’t budgeted for, but most everything else was food. I got enough food that should last us for 2 weeks, until next payday. The only thing I should be heading back to the store for is milk, bread, eggs, and formula. This past weekend, we bought granola bars, snack mix, and cereal at Costco which is like Sams Club. I also buy my formula there twice a month, diapers once a month and wipes every 3 months. That’s how I save a LOT of money!
So, now I have $99 leftover to buy any other groceries for next week!
I’ve learned also to shop for meat when it’s on sale and STOCK UP! One of our stores has a buy one get one free meat sale once a month, so I usually buy a couple roasts, and then I get 2 roasts free! I also use a lot of ground turkey, so when it goes on sale I buy a lot of it, too. Plus, Costco has the ground turkey in 1 1/2 lb packages, 4 packages for about $12.00, which is pretty good.
This shopping trip today, I didn’t use any coupons, but if I could get my hand on some for the cleaning supplies, etc. I would use them. I buy mostly the Great Value brand that Wal-Mart has because it’s just as good as the name brand. There are some things I buy name brand, but I buy generic whenever I can.
Filed under: Weight Loss Journal
So sorry I haven’t gotten on here sooner. I’ll have to post my daily menus that I had last week. I was really bad on Saturday, so after weigh in this morning I was up 0.2 lbs. That’s not bad considering. I will do better this week, and plan to use my WalkSlim dvd I bought either tomorrow or Wed.
Filed under: How was my day today?
First, I have to apologize for not posting. I was doing so well, but then I finally had to give in and get to bed after getting my kids down. Winks was waking up almost every hour. After changing her feeding times, I’m happy to say that last night I actually got about 7 or 8 hours (interrupted of course) of sleep!
Things are okay here. We are having some nice weather, but we’ve got rain in the forecast this week, which I guess is good news because they don’t get a lot of rainy days here.
We DID receive our stimulus payment this past week. We had some tires to buy for our van, and then after taking it to get an alignment done, they found some other problems. Let’s just say that we STIMULATED the economy pretty good, and we don’t have much leftover to stimulate anymore! That was pretty tough, especially since we were looking at using some of that money to help with some bills, but we’re fine, just would’ve been nice to pay something off.
Scoober had a Teddy Bear picnic at school today. He got to take his lunch and they sat outside and then got to play afterwards. They are taking their BEAR tests this week. I think it stands for Beginning Early Assessment in Reading. So, we’ll see how he scores. He can read really well for 5 years old, better than I remember when I was that age.
Winks had her 6 month checkup today. She’s 18 lbs 7 oz and 26 1/2 inches long. She’s getting bigger and taller. I thought I saw some white dots on her bottom gums today, so we’ll see if there are teeth in the next couple of weeks.
Speaking of teeth, Scoober has a loose tooth! It’s his very first one and he’s so excited that he cannot stop wiggling it. I’m scared he’s going to wiggle it and it come out before it’s ready, causing bleeding and gum damage, but I’m probably just over cautious. He said he was wiggling it today and he heard a snap. Ouch! I told him to just leave it alone. But that’s like telling a child not to shake their Christmas presents before Christmas morning!
Husband worked on painting the rest of the shed this weekend. He also worked with Scoober on riding his bike without training wheels. He told Scoober that now that the wheels are off, they aren’t going back on. So, we’ll see how long it takes him to learn.
Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law are flying in for a visit on May 21st. Scoober’s last day of school is the 22nd (his birthday), so they’ll get to see him off to school and help pick him up if they want. Should be a nice visit.
Well, I’m going to have to call it a night. I’m a nightowl and could stay on here, but I’ve got shopping to do tomorrow, so I had better get my rest.
Filed under: Sign of the Times
You know, everyday I see things that surprise me and some things that do not. Today, I was in for a big surprise.
I had gathered some clothing and put it inside a plastic storage tub, marked it clearly on the top that it was for the DAV (Disable American Veterans) to pick up. A charitable donation. They send a vehicle around and pick up donations periodically.
Today was also garbage day, so I put the tub on the other side of the driveway so they wouldn’t mistake it for garbage.
It is also a very nasty day today; raining, snowing and blustery winds, so the tub was necessary to protect my donation.
I left at 8:05am to take Scoober to school. I have to drive by our community on the way into town, so when I looked over the tub was gone, and I headed onto the bank. When I drove into the driveway, I saw a plastic garbage bag on my porch, it was my donations. I stood there trying to figure out what had happened when my neighbor Rose came up and explained.
Rose said this lady (she always walks through our yard, so I know who she is referring to) stopped and looked at the tub, opened it and dumped all the clothes onto the driveway and started off with the tub. Rose had walked over to the tub herself because she thought maybe I forgot to put it over by the garbage or back into the van, so she saw that it was a donation. Rose said she saw the lady and yelled out to her. The lady pretended not to hear her. Rose yelled again and the lady started running. Rose said she put all the clothes in the garbage bag so they weren’t laying out everywhere.
I just couldn’t believe it! I mean a charitable donation and someone steals. I first felt anger, then it turned to concern and then to sadness. How sad it must be for that woman that she needs to steal? Shows a sign of our times.
Just the other day, Scoober’s friends mom was telling me how the neighbors had gone over to a vacant house where the people had been evicted and dug up their tulip bulbs and taken their flower pots. The park manager was having the house cleaned out and everything in the yard was being discarded. I don’t know why these people thought it was okay to take things like that. Makes me wonder what had been planted around our house before we bought it, and maybe it was the neighbors that took the bark that seems to be very thin.
