Wickedstepmthr’s Weblog

celebrate, stress, vent, brag, create, critique, rate, rant, or whatever else comes to mind.

I’m still around… December 16, 2008

Filed under: Uncategorized — tink @ 11:27 pm

Well – It’s been awhile since I’ve posted much.  Who knew life could get so crazy?  We’ve survived(barely) the first quarter of JR High.  We’ve taken one trip with just Charming and I and a second trip for Thanksgiving with all three chil’ens.  We’ve worked, one of us changed jobs, developed candles for our little business, shopped for Christmas, celebrated an anniversary, been tattooed, been biopsied, and decided we might need to drink more.

Charming and I decided to get tattoos for our Christmas gifts to each other.  I already have had a few but he hadn’t had any.  I had one from a few years back on my wrist that I had fallen out of love with so I had it covered up.  Covering it up was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and I knew that it would require going a little bigger.  Right now I love what I have.  They covered the existing mark with a plum colored peony and above that is a dragonfly which is what I really wanted.  The peony was one of those things that I had to go along with because that is the actual cover-up, but the dragonfly I love.  Charming had a very unique lizard done on the back of his calf that is what he has wanted for a long time so I’m happy for him.

We’re all getting ready for the holidays around here.  The shopping is all but done.  Hate to admit that we still have a few things to do, but we do.  We have to still get a few things for the names on Charming’s side of the family that we drew, but he’s not much help there so nothing has been done.  I think we’ve got a fun holiday season coming up even though we only have Spoiled and Gamer after 1:00 on Christmas day, which will make Christmas morning a different.  For the past few years Crazy has changed the plans so we’ve ended up having the kids overnight each year on Christmas Eve but it doesn’t seem like she’s going to change the schedule this year around.  But it is still 9 days away so you never know what she might do.

I still have a lot going on – more things for the side business to do after Christmas – as well as some more editing on the book I’ve been writing.  With everything going on I’m not planning on making many New Years Resolutions, but I’m planning on making 2009 a wonderful year.  I hope every one else out there can do the same!

Wicked

 

Rants by Wicked August 26, 2008

It could be that I’m a little pms-y right now, but a few things in the last little bit have really gotten to me.  I’ll start with the NASCAR race at Bristol this weekend.  The fact that I’ve been following NASCAR for as long as I have, or that I follow it at all surprises most people, but there it is – I watch NASCAR.  And I just have to say that Kyle Bush makes me insane.  I’m pretty sure his maturity level matches that of Little Emo, and I really would enjoy it if he stopped getting camera time which just encourages his behavior.  Nicknamed “Rowdy” because of his aggressive, unrepentant, smash and bash style of racing, he’s never had a problem making contact with another car to get where he wants to go.  Earlier this season he even made the comment that he would wreck who needed to wreck to get a win and then moved forward in doing just that.  But that’s not even the annoying part.  The annoying part is that if any other driver dares touch his car – any little nudge to the bumper and Rowdy starts crying.  This weekend was no exception when, after a nudge for the win by Carl Edwards, Bush retaliated by slamming him several times after they’d crossed the finish line and then made another charge but was stopped by NASCAR.  As soon as the cameras are out he starts crying about Edwards dirty racing, and how he’ll just have to race him the same way.  Guess what dumb ass, you race everyone that way it’s just coming back to you.  The guy bugs me…

Second – I want to know what happened to the idea of customer service?  Since last Thursday I have been dealing with one of those big shipping companies trying to get a bad address corrected so they could deliver a package I ordered.  After dealing with SEVEN different employees, I was told I was going to get my package on Friday, then that it was lost, then that I was going to get it on Monday, then that no one had set up to have it re-delivered at all, they were waiting for me to pick it up at their warehouse.  Last I heard it should be coming today, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  It wasn’t just the confusion on their side that bugged me, it was the lack of concern for how my experience had gone on all their parts that bugged me.  Until I spoke to a supervisor (Rep #7) no one even apologized.  It’s sad that good customer service is something most companies have seemed ok to downsize.

Rant number 3 is the biggest and the one that is bugging me the most and also the one I don’t know how to deal with.  Apparently Crazy is pregnant.  Considering how little she does for the two kids she already has, her having another kid makes me want to throw up.  But it also bugs me that Charming and I agreed that we would not have any more kids because that was the more responsible thing to do, and now her and Boy Toy have decided to keep going.  My step kids – girl age 11 boy age 7 – share a room in a small, dumpy two bedroom apartment where no one considers cleaning much of an importance.  Whether or not the kids get to school on time depends on whether or not she feels like getting up in the morning – and that was long before she was pregnant.  They had missed so many days last year they could have been referred to the juvenile court system for truancy twice if the school district followed the letter of the law.  Gamer spent a portion of each day in ISS(in school suspension) so that he could nap because he would show up so tired that he would get angry or cry in class and the teacher couldn’t deal with it.  She lives within walking distance of their school but we found out Saturday night that neither kid knew what teacher they had yet, and school started yesterday.  We had to drive down to their school (We live about 20 minutes by freeway) so that we could tell them what classes they needed to go to for the first day of school.

Any time the kids need to see a doctor/dentist it only happens if we have them.  Parent teacher conferences – she can’t be bothered.  The one time that she did take Gamer in she had to fight with Charming first.  The kid was so sick he couldn’t talk but she had him call Charming to take him to the doctor.  She had no reason to not take him herself, other than it was a bother to have to do it, but this time Charming said no.  It was not our weekend to have the kids and we had already left the house for an outing we had had planned.  And he was tired of seeing her neglect the kids because her and Boy Toy didn’t want to have their life interupted.  We got plenty of nasty texts before being told that Boy Toy was going to take him to the doctor because he was their real dad.  Guess what – she lied.  The kid didn’t go to the doctor that day.  Turns out they couldn’t be bothered to take him until it required an ER visit the next night.  Turned out he had a staph infection that had spread so bad it required shots of antibiotics and suppositories instead of pills.  He was four and had been sick for days and they just let it go to that pont!  And yes Ladies and Gentlmen, she’s going to have another child.

All weekend Spoiled kept letting little bits slip, because originally she wasn’t supposed to tell us she was pregnant.  Now they keep talking about how she might have twins.  Wouldn’t that be fun!  But then, because there’s always more when it comes to her, it could all be a lie.  The kids started talking about their mom’s secret at the beginning of July.  On July 24th Spoiled said the due date was “sometime in March”.  If I remember correctly you can’t use a pregnancy test until you’ve missed a period, so that would put a woman at 4 or 5 weeks along by the time you can take a test.  If she really is due in March she would have had to tell the kids the day she concieved.  She’s faked a miscarriage before with Charming, and we’ve already had one “Keep the kids tonight I have to go the ER” text so far, so who knows what the truth is.  Chances are that there is a baby coming, that she’ll be off her bipolar meds for the next year, and that life will soon be back in Crazyland. 

So there are the three things bugging me right now…

 

No more little kid stuff August 21, 2008

Filed under: Uncategorized — tink @ 10:02 pm

This morning Little Emo had his first taste of 7th grade.  His school did an orientation day just for seventh graders to give them a chance to find their classes, lockers, and meet teachers without any one else being in the school.  It was only a half day, long enough for each teacher to give an introduction, and for them to try their skills at opening their lockers.

I have to admit I was at least as nervous for this first day as my kid was.  I had butterflies in my stomach all night and this morning, but I couldn’t tell him that.  I picked up his best friend – I’ll call him Little Jock or LJ – and dropped them off.  They were both a little anxious, but excited at the same time.  They understand that JR High is a step up towards being a teenager.  No more little kid stuff.  For that reason, they were more excited than previous school days.  I, on the other hand, was nothing but nerves.  School has never been Little Emo’s favorite thing.  Each year we’ve gone through the same stresses and melt downs.  He’s a bright kid, but school has never kept his interest.  All I’ve been thinking is; one class was bad enough, what are we going to do when he has seven?

I was watching the clock all morning, waiting for the end of his day and my required phone call.  30 minutes after school ended and he had made it to his Little Jock house my phone finally rang.  “So how was it?” I asked.  “You’re not going to believe this mom.” He started, “But it was awesome!”  I was so relieved!  Never had we had such positive words spoken about school.  I’m so hopeful at this point that maybe we’ll finally have a good year.  For the first semester he and LJ have 4 classes together, which I know will be helpful.  He also has friends coming in from both of the elementary schools he’s attended so as he put it, he knows “tons of people” there.  His classes were “good”, and the teachers all got an “alright” status on their first day.  It’s all better than I could have asked for.

I’ll never admit to him that dropping him off for 7th grade made me as teary eyed as when I dropped him off at kindergarten, or that I really wouldn’t have minded walking him to his class.  I held back of course – I figure that probably would have hurt his “cool” factor a little.  Now I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that the postive feel he had for today sticks around for the next six years!  🙂

 

I really did it. August 17, 2008

Filed under: Uncategorized — tink @ 4:45 pm

During my freshman year of college I met a friend who had undergone a bone marrow transplant not too long before our year started.  During one conversation she encouraged a bunch of us to join the donor registry if we had the chance, and this weekend I got my official membership card.

A few months ago my husband noticed that the National Donor Registry was doing free screenings and I signed up.  I received my testing kit in the mail, swabbed the inside of my cheeks a few times, and sent them back in.  Swabbing my cheeks was a little like what you see on CSI – giant Qtips in individual wrapers that fit into little slots in the mail back card when I was done.

I mailed them back awhile ago, and yesterday finally received the confirmation that I have been added to the national registry and will be checked as a match for needing patients.  I could go the next 30 years and never match any one at all, but the posibility that I could, and that my cells could give someone another chance, is huge to me.

So now I have a little ID card to carry with me, and the responsibility of keeping my personal information updated with the registry.  After that it’s all up to fate I guess.  🙂

 

I dare you to try it! August 14, 2008

Filed under: Uncategorized — tink @ 9:20 pm

Here is a list of 100 things about me.  I dare you to make your own, and double dare you to post them!

1.   My favorite color is purple

2.   If I could be any cartoon character I would be Tink

3.   Driving with my car stereo up and singing at the top of my lungs is therapeutic for me, and I sometimes take the long way home on bad days.

4.   I am completely afraid of dying.

5.   I wish I knew as much about computers as my husband does but I don’t know why.

6.   I think my son is smarter than me.

7.   I believe I’ve had more than one life.

8.   I once kicked my best friend, Daniel Brinkerhoff, out of my yard for a whole day because he pulled the legs off of a grasshopper.

9.   Being afraid to get involved in team sports when I was a kid is something I regret.

10. I was first chair clarinet for a few years, and played in a jazz band that performed all over the city.

11. Once I’ve made a friend they are a friend for life even if I go years without seeing them.

12. I cheated on a type test that was required to get my job at 911.

13. I’ve actually had someone say to me “if I can’t have you no one else can.”  It’s not flattering.

14. I thought my son hated me until he was two.

15. I once told a couple off at an fast food place after listening to them talk about how single moms were ruining soceity.

16. I hate haunted houses.

17. I’ve consulted with a psychic

18. Two of my friends from college and I use to go out every night at 10:00 and climb trees on campus.

19. I’ve always felt so much older than I am, even when I was a kid.

20. I think finding out about Santa was the first step towards my atheism.

21. I was one of the “popular” kids until 8th grade, and had someone ask me “what happened, I always wanted to be like you?” when I was 13, which made me cry after school.

22. I can recall conversations going back to childhood and sometimes think about things I should have said differently while I’m alone in the shower.

23. My dad graduating from the Police Academy was a more memorable night for me than my high school graduation.

24. I’ve seen all of the early Steven Seigal movies.

25. I was asked to try out for my high school dance team but couldn’t because of grades…

26. I wore knee braces for almost a year as a teen ager.

27. I go into shock when I get hurt.

28. Even though I love music, I would rather lose my hearing than my sight because the best part of music is the words, and I could still read those, but I couldn’t imagine never being able to see the world.

29. I thought we were rich when I was a kid.

30. Some of my favorite things, like smells and foods and places, I love because they remind me of being a kid.

31. I hate the fact that I’m stubborn sometimes.

32. I have my own pink Xbox controller, but I don’t play any games very well.

33. I hate politicians but love to talk politics.

34. My biggest fear right now is that I don’t know if I can help my kids be as successful as I think they deserve to be in life.

35. Before I got married I was fiercely independent, lived on my own and was never getting married but now I cry when my husband goes out of town.  Such a wussy girl…

36. I always wanted people I cared about to learn from MY mistakes as I made them.

37. Thinking about moving into my first apartment with just me and my son can still make me cry.

38. I almost peed my pants in an elevator once while I was drunk at an all night scrapbooking party at a hotel.

39. Most of my proudest moments have to do either with my son’s accomplishments or my work at 911.

40. My friend Marcie and I ran away once because we weren’t getting our way about something, and when we FINALLY came back no one had yet noticed we were gone.

41. I have thought more than once about taking ex-lax brownies to work or a family function, but I am not sure why, and I know I would never do it.

42. I am one of those that get the urge to jump off of high places.

43. It amazes me still to think about what my husband and I have accomplished together in such short time, and sometimes forget I haven’t known him forever.

44. I’ve had a nervous breakdown.

45. I can still remember a fake fur coat my mom bought when I was about 10 and how cool I thought my parents were compared to other parents.

46. Part of the reason I never smoked with my friends was because I was afraid I would do it wrong.

47. The fact that I never had a second baby makes me worry that I’ll be a crazy grandma!

48. I know it’s a sign of physical something or other, but I’m never impressed when I hear about people climbing Mt. Everest or something like that because I think for the most part they’re crazy and missing something in their lives.

49. I love that my husband people watches and can be just as catty as me!

50. Two friends admitted the night of graduation that they had always been afraid of me…

51. If I could spend a day with a famous person it would be Tori Amos.

52. For a short period of time I would line my favorite dolls up under my window before I’d go to bed because I was sure my house was going to catch fire during the night, and I didn’t want them to die.

53. I have been in love with ballet since my great aunt took me to see Nutcracker when I was 5 as a reward after a small surgery.  And I still remember going to Arby’s afterwards and singing Christmas Carols on the way home in her big Suburban, just the two of us.

54. I broke my little finger once hitting the roof of my car in a tantrum over having my power shut off and then was lectured by my seven year old…

55. I don’t agree with drafts or forced military service at all.  Not all people are meant to be soldiers.

56. It makes me think a little less of English people because they hold on to their monarchy.

57. I used to have clothing restrictions when I was a kid because my mom thought I wore too many jeans and t-shirts.

58. I use to have a homicidal gold fish named Elton that killed three bowl mates.

59. I consider my years as a single mom a badge of honor that only other single moms get.

60. I hated the use of the word “dude” and wouldn’t let my son say it until I met my husband.  Now I find myself saying it almost daily.

61.  When I eat M&M’s at work I dump them all out and make even rows of patterned colors before I can eat them.

62. Being stranded on a desert island would probably make me slit my wrists.

63. I have a hard time dealing with people who ask for advice and then do the exact opposite of what I tell them to do.

64. When I was 13 I had to tell my mom over the phone that her grandma had died.

65. I can’t do basic math.

66. I hate that I procrastinate so much.

67. I get angry when I see little kids dressed like ragamuffins and even angrier when parents name their kids things like Rodeo or Lucky Bleu because they think they are creative.

68. I am constantly afraid of losing my job because of the nature of our industry.

69. I used to love frosting on saltine crackers.

70. I stepped on my kindergarten teacher’s toe once as we were sitting down for reading time to see what she would do.  She made me put my name on the board.

71. I once burned my hand by putting it behind a shirt that was on a hanger and trying to iron a little spot…

72. In high school I lied to my boyfriend and friends about cheating on him because I wanted him to think I had gptten back at him for cheating on me.

73. I like that I’m short.

74. I hate when the president gets all the blame for something the people in government all agreed to do.  Regardless of who the president is.

75. I will never be convinced of the usefulness or need for spiders.

76. I never went on a date with any one from my own high school.

77. I once saved my best friend Amie from a crazy bird that got trapped in her house.

78. I believe in forced sterilization of people who have proven their lack of parenting sensibilities.

79. I once tried to make raisins by leaving grapes in a window sill.

80. A friend’s girlfriend and I both told him the other was familiar when I was 22, and we finally figured out we recognized each other from first grade.

81. I wanted to be on Kids incorporated when I was a kid.

82. I wear jeans a lot so I don’t have to shave my legs so often.

83. I’ve been told I have no sense of humor.

84. It makes me giggle to say my first concert was NKOTB.

85. I’m a sucker for an accent.

86. I’ve never felt more beautiful than on my wedding day.

87. You can’t really tell but my hair is pink in my senior class pictures.

88. My mom is my hero.

89. I might have a little too high expectation of other people.

90. I can’t handle lying.  Even from kids. 

91. Waking up on a Saturday morning, late, with my husband is the greatest thing in the world.

92. I loved Miss Piggy when I was a kid, and even had a Miss Piggy bed set for my room.

93. It should, but it doesn’t bother me that I didn’t finish college.

94. I had a rat tail down to the middle of my back and only agreed to cut it when my mom agreed to let me shave the back of my head.

95. I can’t watch movies with subtitles.

96. I don’t think I’m a very forgiving person.

97. I once had Sandy PD chase us out of a park when we were making out in the dark.

98. I’ve been skinny dipping.

99. I don’t know why, but it bugs me when girls propose to the guys.

100.           I could probably live on ice cream and vitamins.

 

 

 

My Total Solution August 13, 2008

Filed under: Uncategorized — tink @ 3:19 am
Tags: , , ,

At the end of June I joined a new weight loss program called Thin and Healthy Total Solutions.  So far it’s been pretty easy to live with, although I’ve really slacked over the past few weeks – just too much going on.  It’s been the first “diet” where I’ve actually felt like I’m being more healthy and not just trying to lose weight.  It really is just that old idea of eating what’s good for you and getting up and moving your body.  But when I say “eating what’s good for you” it’s not all tofu and soy, it’s grains and fruits, and veg, and the right kind of meats and proteins in the right proportions.  All the stuff I’ve never really done in my adult life.  Eight years as a single mom there were a lot of cold cereal for dinner nights, and unfortunately a lot of fast food when my son was younger and doing karate 5 nights a week. (Truly his choice!)

Even though I haven’t been following what I was supposed to be doing for about the last three weeks, the original 11 pounds that I lost have stayed off.  Today I went in to be measured again and found out that I’ve also lost a total of 13 inches!  Two inches alone off my hips and another inch off my thighs.  I’m sure that once I reach my goal weight in December, being measured won’t be so bad, but it certainly helps right now to have them do it and be able to see that I’m really maing improvments.  🙂

 

Growing up August 3, 2008

Filed under: General,Raising teens — tink @ 7:30 am
Tags: , , ,

This weekend I’ve pretty much been on my own.  Charming went camping with some friends for a guys weekend and last night Little Emo spend the night at his dad’s, so I had the house all to myself.  It was kind of nice to have some alone time, but it was hard to go to sleep last night.  I lived on my own before and never had a problem but I’ve turned into such a wussy girl since getting married that I managed to creep myself out a little bit with every odd sound.

Today I picked up Little Emo from his dad’s and we decided to do some school shopping.  We got a little bonus at work so I had extra cash to play with.  I started the day thinking I was going to spend that money on a new puppy while my husband is out of town, but I decided to spend it on my son instead.  First we hit Hot Topic, his favorite store, and he picked out a new shirt and a hoodie.  Before long he was looking at the case of earrings, and I soon found myself agreeing to let him get his ears pierced.  He used his own money to buy the earrings he wanted, and I took him to the jewelry store a few doors down to make it official.  He was a little bummed that he couldn’t use the earrings he had just bought, but he decided on some small silver studs for the next six weeks.  I think it hurt a little more than he thought it was going to, but he survived.  We’re both worried about what his grandpa is going to say, but we’ll deal.  It’s not like I will ever allow him to gage them to giant holes, just some sensible masculine loops.

Next we hit a skate shop where he had seen a back pack that he liked.  While we were driving to the mall we had discussed the idea of buying a new puppy.  My son was all for the idea of getting another dog, he’s as much of an animal lover as I am, so I had my mind on the 9 week old mini schnauzer I had found an add for.  But my son soon found something else for me to spend my money on, and while he didn’t ask for it as much as I offered it, I decided it would be better to spend my money on him that on another puppy.  So, he left the skate shop with the new back pack and a really nice looking long board.  🙂  He was ecstatic.  It’s been a long time since I’ve bought him anything big just for no reason, so it was kind of fun.  And the long board doesn’t need to be potty trained.

At the end of our trip we ended up with 2 shirts, 1 hoodie, 1 pair of jeans, 1 back pack, 1 wallet (“I’m going to JR high now mom, I’m going to need to have cash for lunch.”), 2 holes in his ears, 2 pair of loop earrings, and 1 long board.  It might not be everything he needs to start the new school year, but it was a fun shopping day.  I’ve even decided I like the earrings.  They fit his little style.  I’ve also realized that he is growing up.  It’s not even the physical changes – the fact that he’s finally as tall as the rest of his friends, and the change in his voice – that hints at getting older.  When we’re having a good day, the way he interacts with me as well as other people such as store clerks, is different than how he used to handle it.  He asked his own questions about the earrings he was looking at, talked about the process with the girl who was piercing his ears, and discussed the back to school sale the skate shop was having, all on his own.  This is a huge change from my shy little boy of just a few years ago.  As anxious as he has been for the last year over moving up to JR high, I’ve stressed myself out over him starting in a few weeks.  But the way that he was talking about it today, for the first time, I’ve felt like he’s going to handle it ok.

After our shopping trip and some Chinese take out I took him down to his best friend’s house for a sleepover.  The boys are going to go see the new Mummy movie tomorrow afternoon, so I’m spending another night on my own.  Tomorrow I’ll be able to get some laundry done and hopefully work on the book I’m writing a little bit.  I had hoped to work on it tonight, but I’m feeling pretty sleepy after my restless night last night, so I think I’m just going to go to bed.

 

So this is me… August 2, 2008

Welcome to my blog.  I plan on using this anonymous space as my safe haven when I need to vent about the stresses of being a wife, mother and a step mother, but there will be plenty of other subjects that show up, so if you’re here feel free to add what’s on your mind.

To help you keep the characters straight let me introduce you to a few of the regulars that will be showing up.  I’m Wicked.  I’m a 32 year old working mom and wife with a great husband and 3 kids.  I work full time and I am a co-owner of a small business that we’re in the early stages of getting off the ground.  I was a single mom for eight years before meeting my husband, and my boss often jokes that I can’t truly survive life without a high level of stress.  Being a mom, a step mom, and a second wife certainly provides for plenty of that!

Next is my husband.  I’m going to call him Charming on this site – Like I said I plan on this being anonymous.  Charming is absolutely my soul mate.  I love him very deeply, and he’s one of those all around good guys.  He’s a professional, intelligent and loving, and he does dishes and laundry!  He also spent several years in a very unhappy marriage with a woman who was diagnosed as crazy.  Being faithful was not her strong point and she finally called things off after hooking up with her boy-toy, but not before they had two kids together.  He’s a good father and was actually holding on to his marriage because he didn’t want his kids to grow up with a divorce, but she had other priorities.  She wasn’t the most cooperative when it came to the divorce even though she had moved on first, and it took two years for their divorce to actually go through because she refused to agree to anything reasonable.  Even through all of this Charming deals with her in a much calmer way than I could.  Sometimes I wish he wasn’t so calm with her – sometimes I want him just to tell her off, but he doesn’t for his own reasons.  Like I said, he’s a good guy.

Little Emo – My 12 year old son.  He’s a great kid, very artistic, sensitive, girl crazy, and getting ready to start the 7th grade.  Growing up with me on his own, we’ve had a different kind of mother/son relationship and sometimes he forgets that we’re not exactly equal, but over all he’s a good kid.  He doesn’t get in trouble and he’s as smart as can be.  He also has a huge heart that he wears proudly on his sleeve even though it sometimes gets him hurt.  He’s dealt with a lot more at the age of 12 than I ever wanted him to go through, including an anxiety disorder that almost became disabling a few years ago, but he’s stronger than he realizes and I know he’s going to do amazing things.  He is my heart.

Spoiled – My 11 year old step daughter who does what she can to please her mother, and is in many unfortunate ways, just like her.  When I first met my husband and found out he had a little girl, I was actually excited.  I had wanted to have more kids, and always hoped to have a daughter as well as my son.  At the beginning I didn’t want to think that there would be issues between the kids and I.  I was hopeful that because they were young it would make our transitions easier, but I was wrong.  It became obvious right away that their mom wasn’t going to let that happen when she explained to her dad that she couldn’t like me because her mom told her I “drank a lot” and that made me a “bad person”.  At this point her mother and I had never met, never spoken, and she knew nothing about me other than I was dating her ex and had a son.  It wasn’t possible for her to know that I didn’t drink alcohol at all at that point.  Things haven’t really gotten much better, and I’ve given into the idea that she will always keep me at an arms length.  She won’t even wear clothes that I buy for her even if she’s at the store to help pick them out.  While it’s easy for me to say I love her, at the same time I don’t feel close to her.  She craves the affection of her mother because it hasn’t always been given easily, but the relationship they have is sometimes inappropriate.  I cross my fingers for her every day that she can take herself on a better path than her role model.

Gamer – my 7 year old step son.  The kid is another victim of his mother.  His only interest is video games and at his mom’s that’s pretty much all he does.  At his age he won’t even try to learn how to ride his bike while at our house, and cries over us trying to get him just to peddle around the drive way.  Last summer we tried to start doing weekend walks while they were with us – both of my step kids sat on a neighbor’s lawn and cried half way around the block.  That next day Charming got some nasty text messages stating that we were not to force the kids to go on walks if they didn’t want to, and the complaining and tears when we try make it not worth it any more.  Besides being inactive Gamer is also very babied at mom’s.  He doesn’t know how to tie his shoes, doesn’t eat ANY fruits or veg, resorts to fits of tears to get out of doing anything he considers too hard, and lately resorts to violence when he gets angry.  The fact that mom and step dad still talk to him in baby talk doesn’t help encourage him to act like a “big boy”.  He and I are maybe a little closer than his sister and I, but he gets the same guilt from mom so there is still a distance between us.

Crazy – This is the ex wife.  Like I said, she was diagnosed as crazy and is frequently on and off medication, which sometimes makes her easier to deal with.  She and I have no contact with one another, and I dread the day that I actually have to be in the same room as her.  She had more than one affair during her marriage to Charming, and is actually currently married to the last person she cheated with, but none of that stopped her from going over the deep end when Charming and I met.  He had moved out of the house months earlier at her demand and she had pictures of the Boy-Toy hanging in the house and he had moved some of his personal items in.  That didn’t stop her from blaming ME for the end of her marriage and doing everything she could to make our life hell.  She would call and email non-stop with all sorts of threats and accusations, usually between 10PM and 4AM.  She even went as far as to email Charming’s entire family with a bunch of “information” about me.  She’s accused me of hitting the kids, which of course had never happened, accused me and my mom of harassing her and her parents by phone, accused Charming of “kidnapping” after he responded to a 1/2 days worth of threatening emails demanding he take the kids because she didn’t want them any more… I could go on and on forever.  The latest with Crazy is that she’s pregnant, apparently due in March.  She doesn’t know that we know, but the frustration she created last night over something as simple as a drop off time for the kids she hadn’t seen in two weeks, confirmed she’s off her meds.  Hurray…

Boy-Toy – He’s the new husband.  Several years younger than her, I’m not sure he knew what he was getting into when he decided to have an affair with this particular married mother of two.  She’s a pathological liar, and will lie about anything, so I can only imagine what she told him about herself and her life.  Knowing what my husband believed when they got married before the age of 20 I’m sure it was a good story.  We know now that the honeymoon is over because the kids have mentioned that Crazy and Boy-Toy fight a lot, but he’s still sticking it out for now.  Now that they are also having a baby who knows how long he’ll be there.  His maturity is younger than his already young physical age, so I don’t know if he will deal with Crazy off meds for 9 months and then with postpartum depression for at least another year while they try to readjust meds and she deals with a third child she doesn’t really want to be responsible for.  He will become the “responsible parent” for two kids and a newborn, and I’m not sure he has it in him.

My Ex – What can I say?  We were young.  He developed a drug problem and then spent several years trying to stay high.  Considering I’ve never even smoked a cigarette let alone done any illegal drugs, it put us in two very different sides of life with a baby boy in the middle.  Once he left I spent several years trying to make him be a part of Little Emo’s life, but it didn’t work very well.  He would disappear for months at a time, and finally when he was 7 and was suffering badly with depression and anxiety his counselor told me he needed consistancy and I told the ex he had to either be consistantly there or consistantly gone.  We didn’t hear from him again for over a year.  After having a second child with a fellow addict he finally started to clean up.  While she is every bit the nightmare that Crazy is, he had another child with her and then came to his senses and realized that they couldn’t get along.  He hasn’t always been there for Little Emo, and I can’t say there wasn’t a point in time that I hated him, but I’m trying to put all that hurt behind me and accept him as part of my son’s life right now.  The only reason I’m doing it is because Little Emo seems not only willing but eager to forgive him and spend time getting to know him, so I feel like I have to.  He does what he can and he’s trying to be there for my son, so I guess I can’t ask for more right now.

So there you have the cast of characters in this little life of mine.  I think I’ll have plenty to blog about with this group!

 

 
Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started