Thursday, August 25, 2005

Little update

I guess waiting so long in between entries is why I'm wondering where to even start. I'll tell ya, for someone who has a pretty dull life, I sure have been busy lately! This weekend will be pretty busy too!
I'm hoping to get some school shopping done tomorrow night. School starts on Monday, and so far I bought NOTHING! Luckily, my mom bought the boys their sneakers, so I just have to get them some clothes and school supplies. I'm hoping to be able to do it on my super, isty-bitsy, tiny budget! I'm hoping to find deals like I did last year!
On Saturday, the church next door is having a "Summer Sizzler". The pastor's son brought a little flyer down with the details on it. I'm hoping to be able to go, at least for a little while. I know the boys would enjoy it and it does sound like fun!
I got a letter in the mail a few days ago. Looks like I'll be going to court. Trevor's dad hasn't been paying child support, and finally something is getting done about it! I guess it must have scared him some, because I got a call yesterday, and the woman from Domestic Relations told me that he made a $150 payment in hopes of not having to go to the hearing. (Got it today! YAY!) The woman told him she wouldn't cancel the hearing because $150 hardly puts a dent in the $1,098 that he owes me! We shall see what happens. I hope they can do something. It's been hard without that money coming in.
Last weekend, we went to my ex-SIL's wedding. We were invited, and I was asked if I would take pictures for her. We had a good time. Some may not agree with our going, but until she does me wrong, I have no problems with her. Not only that, if it wasn't for us being friends, I would probably never get to see my neice and nephew. I didn't divorce her, my brother did, and I don't blame her one bit. He was far from being a good husband to her. I'm glad that she is finally happy!
On Sunday, Trevor, Brad, and I went to the Rehrig Reunion. I normally would take $20 to spend with me, but because money has been a problem lately, I went with $10. I made sandwiches and took them along for us to eat. Next year, I'm hoping to be able to take Corey and Collin along too. Everyone was asking about them. I didn't take them since it's so hard to watch them there. Dennis hates going to family get-togethers, and he'd certainly rather watch them at home than at a big place like that. So, he stayed home with them. There'll be plenty more reunions for them to go to!
Today was like Christmas for the kids. lol Dennis was given a bunch of stuff from someone at work. A whole bunch of Rescue heros (playsets and vehicles too!), K'Nex, YuGiOh card binders, a Pixter, and a bunch of other stuff. The kids haven't left the stuff alone since it got here! I'll have to send a thank-you note along to work with him tomorrow. The boys are having a blast!! Maybe they are having too much fun. It's almost 11pm, and they are still awake!
I'm feeling a bit tired myself, so I will end. I've got to get the boys into their beds before they fall asleep in the living room.
Goodnight!

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Busy, busy, busy (stress, stress, stress)

I haven't been so good with keeping up with this blog. I didn't think it would get this bad, though!
I've been so busy lately, yet I don't feel like I'm accomplishing all that much. This past weekend, the heat and humidity here was so bad that I didn't even turn the computer on. It was too hot to even complain about how hot it was! We were also pretty busy.
Saturday night, we would've liked to have gone to "Bike Night". Bikers from all over come to Lehighton to show off their bikes and vendors sell their things and the money that is raised goes to the Lehigton Police and Fire Departments. It's a good cause, and the kids enjoy seeing all of the motorcycles. We didn't go mainly because of the heat, but we really didn't have money to spend either, and, I knew that there was a good chance of seeing my step-mom there, so we stayed home and played pool in the cool basement.
On Sunday, Bradley and I went with the scouts to the environmental center at Beltzville State Park. The boys earned their geology badge. We had a great time, despite the heat. Brad's favorite part was digging for fossils. We were at the park from 10 am to 3 pm, but the time just flew right by. We left the park, came home, and washed off and got the rest of the family and we headed to my cousin Nicci's graduation party. It was indoors, and air conditioned!
At the party, I learned some sad news. My uncle Rusty's niece, Angie, is in the hospital. She's in a coma, and they only give her a 5% chance of survival. (Rusty is my uncle through marriage, and Angie is his brother's daughter). She collapsed on her kitchen floor earlier that morning making breakfast for her kids. She suffered from an aneurysm in her brain, which also led to her having a stroke, at 30 years old. I feel so bad for her husband and her 2 young boys. I'm especially sad for her dad. He had to bury Angie's brother, Bobby, 20 years ago this past July. Bobby was only 14 years old. He died suddenly due to an accident at my aunt and uncle's house. He was electrocuted at their swimming pool. I remember that day like it was yesterday, and I've seen how it has changed Angie and Bobby's dad. I can't imagine how hard this is on him.
This weekend coming is going to be just as busy! On Saturday, I'm going to a wedding. My brother's ex-wife is getting re-married. Yes, I did say my brother's ex. Some feel that it is wrong, but I didn't divorce her, my brother did. She also asked me to be her "photographer". If it wasn't for her, and our friendship, I'd never get to see my niece and nephew. My brother's new "girlfriend" doesn't "allow" him to see his own family! So, we (Dennis, kids, and I) will go, take pictures, and have a good time!
This Sunday is the Rehrig Family Reunion. It will probably be just me and the kids going to that, since Dennis doesn't like going to reunions. I want Corey and Collin to go along, but I'll need his help for a little bit, so hopefully I'll be able to talk him into going, even if it's just for a little while. Last year I went without them, and I had so many people ask me where "the twins" were. They'd love to see them! It's hard for me to keep an eye on them when I have to get up in front of everyone and read my historian's report. It's a big place, and I don't want to put that kind of responsibility on my older boys, especially since they'd like to go and do their own thing too.
The next big thing for me to stress about is school! It starts on the 29th of this month. I'm not sure where I'll get the money to do school shopping. My mom bought Brad a pair of sneakers, and so far that is all we have. The way things have been going lately, I'm dreading school starting. Trevor and Brad both need haircuts, and I haven't even been able to afford that! I cut my own the other day, but they won't let me attempt their hair. Soon, they may not have a choice. I'm so tired of money troubles. I don't remember it ever being this bad, but I'm not in full-blown panic mode just yet. Hopefully things will start to get better soon!

Thursday, August 04, 2005

TGTF (Thank God Tomorrow's Friday!!)

It's time to empty some out. It's been a bad week for me, so far, and there is so much built up inside that I'm just going to explode! If I haven't said it already, I'm thinking it everytime I come here. Why can't I post my happy thoughts in here??? !!!!
MondayIt all started Monday night. I went into the bathroom, stripped off all of my clothing, and started the shower. I didn't even step into the shower when I realized we were out of hot water! I wrapped my towel around me and yelled down the hall to Dennis that we were out of hot water. Normally, he would get dressed and go to the gas station and get kerosene to dump into the oil tank. Not this time. He told me he can get the kerosene 50 cents cheaper at a gas station closer to where he works. He'd take the can with him to work in the morning and he'd bring some home Tuesday afternoon.
Well, there was no way that I was going to go without a shower! I had just scrubbed the kitchen, dining room, entry, and the one bathroom floor before I was to get my shower, so I definately needed it! I'm thinking now, maybe I should've held off on scrubbing my disgusting floors. At least I might've had hot water!
I took a cold shower.
TuesdayTuesday morning, I couldn't start my regular routine for the day. I usually start off by giving the kids their breakfast and then I'd start cleaning up the kitchen, doing the dishes and wiping off the tables and counters. I couldn't without hot water. It would have to wait until he got home with kerosene. I rinsed and stacked the dishes and wiped off what I had to with cold water. GRRR!
I'm glad I wiped everything off and cleaned up what I did, because my sister and neice stopped in. They were up at my mom's on Monday, and my mom sent some of the leftover food from the party at her house on Saturday. Little did I know how much I really needed the food that she sent.
Dennis came home from work on Tuesday empty handed. No kerosene. He tried to avoid the subject, but since it was all that was on my mind, I had to ask if he got any. Of course, he said no. He has NO money. Ok, great, it's Tuesday, and he is flat broke!! Actually, he was flat broke by MONDAY!!!
I tried thinking of where we went wrong? We could've been $28 richer had I not gone to Wal-Mart on Saturday morning and bought my boys the sneakers and outfits. I paid $9.97 each for 2 pairs of sneakers. I wasn't going to the birthday party having my boys wear sneakers that didn't fit, or sandals that were obviously too small. They needed the new sneakers. I also bought them each an out fit, $2 each for each shirt and shorts, totalling $8! I am so tired of seeing pics of my boys wearing the same darn things. The same things that they wore last year! The only other thing I bought at WM that morning was a birthday card. Maybe I should've made one on the computer?
Anyway, after I found out that there would be no hot water until Friday, I put a pot of water on the stove to heat up so my dishes could at least be washed in hot water. It totally went through me to rinse them in cold water, but at least they were clean.
WednesdayYesterday, my mom stopped in to return my crock pot. It didn't dawn on me right away, but I could tell by the way she was dressed, that I wasn't her only stop. Then it clicked! I remembered my sister telling me that she was having a little ice cream cake for Alyssa's birthday! She wasn't having a "party", but she bought an ice cream cake and if anyone wanted to stop by, they could. I would've liked to have gone, but I'd need a shower, and I'd have no gift. I know Alyssa would've been fine with me not bringing a gift, but I still would've felt ackward, so I didn't go. Not only that, I wasn't going without a shower, and I know there are just fumes in my gas tank in the van. I will make it up to her someday.
My mom had also brought some cucumbers from her garden. I didn't take many since I was still eating cucumber salad from the last bunch she brought me. I took just a few to fry. That would be my supper tonight! Trevor and I are the only ones that eat cucumbers, so this would be good, it would make the leftovers last a little longer.
After supper, I put 2 big pots of water on the stove to get hot. With the heat and humidity being so bad, the kids and I really needed a bath. The water may not have been as deep as they would normally like it, but at least they would be clean! I did the same for myself. As I sat in the water that didn't even cover my knees when I sat down, I thought of how lucky I am that it wasn't winter! The water was just barely luke warm. There's no way I could've taken a bath like that in the winter. I would've froze!
Dennis didn't want to wait, so he took a cold shower.
The day wasn't ALL bad, though. Dennis did come home from work with a little good news. He will be working on Saturday. OVERTIME!!! He's been waiting for months for them to tell him that.
ThursdayHere we are, today, Thursday. We don't have much farther to go, and we are still in one piece. We have since ran out of kool-aid and sugar, and laundry soap, but we have plenty of cold water!
Dennis took some things with him to work today in hopes of selling them to guys he works with or he'll take them to the pawn shop nearby. He is hoping to bring us some kerosene home, possibly some sugar and kool-aid. We'll have enough party leftovers for supper tonight, but I'm not sure about lunch tomorrow. We only have to make it until he gets home from work tomorrow. The kids will be more than happy, I'm sure, eating cereal for breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Heck, most nights, they'd eat cereal for supper if I'd let them!
I'll be so happy when this week is finally over. I'll be even happier that we've made it through this without having to borrow money from anyone. Yesterday, I spent most of my day at the computer, working on a website for Bradley's cub scout pack. It kind of kept my mind off of how things are here, but it did create some new frustrations, since I've never done a website before. LOL
Also, today, I finally made the call to the phone company. Since a bad thunderstorm hit last week, my phone hasn't been working. I can make calls, but I can't receive them. I know when someone is trying to call, because I get a "half ring". Sometimes, if the phone is right by my side, I can answer it before it cuts off. I called the phone company last Thursday, and they said it was due to the storm and that it would be working that night. It wasn't. I called again on Monday, and they told me they'd send someone out, but if the problem was inside the house, I'd have to pay $90 for the guy to come and $46 for ever half hour that he is here. I told them not to send anyone, how would I afford that?? We did every kind of test that we could do, and the problem is still there. I decided today that I'd just let them send someone out and if I have to pay, I will find a way. Hopefully, the problem will be outside. I need to be able to receive calls. We shall see what happens. Someone should be sometime today before 6pm.
I think, too, that a lot of this is getting to me more so because it's my "PMS week". I've been through so many emotions in the past few days. This is probably one of the only times that I've ever actually looked forward to getting my period. Imagine that! LOL
Ahh, I do kind of feel a little better getting it out. Hopefully, Dennis will keep getting some overtime, and hopefully, I will get the child support that I am owed. It's been a little over a month since I last received a payment. As of today, I am owed almost $900!
Next week will be better, I'm sure. (It HAS to be!!)