Third, the Blog

Hey there, guys! Yeah, yeah, I was totally supposed to get back to this sooner. I really was... But I didn't... Sigh. Only because I had a full and fun day, so that's gotta count for something, right? LOL.

So, yesterday, I woke up and blogged and watched Captain America (the real movie - ha!). I said that last time I blogged. Anyway, at around 10:30, I texted Kim, and said that we should get a group together to go to McDonalds with the kids! I said 11, then came right back with noon, so I could shower. She came back with the SAME thing. hehe. Too funny :)

So, I texted everyone I knew, with plans for McDonalds at noon, and feelers for a girls movie in the evening. And I spent the next 45 minutes texting back and forth with people. Finally, I put the phone away (hehe), and hopped in the shower.

I wanted the kids to do chores before we left. And for the house to be a little less trashed. So, I said, "We're going to McDonalds!!! Do your chores before we leave". Yeah, no change... None at all. Freakin' kids.

Then, instead of yelling, I got smarter. I said it this way. $3 towards lunch. And extra dollar toward lunch if you did your chores. And another extra dollar toward lunch if you clean your room. OMGosh, people scrambled at that point. Dishes were being washed, vacuums, brooms, all sorts of stuff going on! It just took McDonalds to get them to do it - hehe.

So, by the time I got done with my shower and got ready and it was time to go, my house was mostly clean, and most of the kids' rooms were cleaned too! Score! Jake and Eme both had clean rooms and chores. Joe and Jim had a clean room but not clean chores. Tom had clean chores but not a clean room. So, 2 with $5 and 3 with $4. We made our list on the way over. And what a list it was. hehe. That poor McDonalds worker. He got it mostly all right, though. Just forgot Tom's side salad. We did get it, though :)

Here's some pics of us waiting for our food :)

Kari and kids and Kim and kids met us there. It was funny, cause I invited like 19 people to come. It's all a numbers game, you know. For every 7 or 8 no's, you get a yes. Ha! So the more people I invite, the more likelihood I'll have of having someone to play with! :)

And you know what? We were at McDonalds from noon-4something. Holy crap! But, the kids were being good and playing well. Why leave if they're being good, right???

Jake and Justin had fun hanging out. Especially since Jake was grounded from Friends' houses. This was as close to friends as he was gonna get today :)


Scotty is SO funny! He was fascinated with this necklace from New Years. He pretended like they were foot cuffs, and hand cuffs, and chains, and all sorts of stuff. Silly boy! He leaves in a few weeks to go and live with his grandma.

His family is moving to Germany, and they don't have the facilities there for him. Plus, it's time for him to go either to a group home, or somewhere where he can get one on one. And grandma can give it to him. With no little bothers, I mean brothers (hehe) to stress him out. A good routine. Family close. Good schools. Scotty is gonna love it :)


We only had one minor incident while at McDonalds. Jimmy was telling Jake to throw the chipmunk toy at his head from across the playland, and that he'd dodge it. And Jake, not thinking, did it... And yeah, Jim totally didn't dodge it! Bloody head. Luckily, it wasn't a lot of blood. Just a little scratch, really. Jake felt really bad, and tried to comfort him. And I guess Jimmy learned that he wasn't able to dodge flying plastic toys...

Kim and Kari



Finally, at 4pm, we decided to load up and head out. And kids were being super good still. We figured to leave before something went wrong - ha! Leave on a good note, you know :)

Jake wanted to go to Game Stop and exchange a few games. See, he used to have a PSP. He'd earned money back when he was the babysitter. Before Aspergers reared its ugly head with puberty. And then, when he cleaned his room one time, he accidentally threw it away. Oops. Yeah, BIG oops...

Anyway, he had a few PSP games, a Wii game that was his, and a XBox 360 game. He figured he could get some money for a different game. And I let him know that it would only be a few dollars he'd get for each. They're not worth much as trade in. BUT, he was fine with that. They weren't doing much for him anyway, he said. It was his money...

And off we went. Here's Jim in my messy car. ha! Well, it's my car. It's THEIR mess. I didn't make it. It's all their crap!
Eme's so cute! But I was trying to figure out how to get her hair to look better. Even after washing it, it always looks stringy. Maybe it's the age? I think she needs a new cut...
We were at game stop for like 2 hours.... Holy freakin' crap! hehe :) They were having a buy 2 PS2 games, get 2 PS2 games for free. Pretty good deal, really. Jake spent WAY too long looking around for 360 games he wanted. And couldn't find any.

Then finally decided on Wii games. And worked out a deal with me, that if he cleaned and detailed both vehicles (inside and out), that he'd earn 20 bucks. Finally, he'd picked something. Then he decided he didn't want that after all, and he wanted a controller and a numchuck. Seriously?

Tom, in the meantime, selected 4 games that he wanted. And then Jake went to look. And thought they were SO cool. So he decided that's what he wanted. Are you kidding me??? Sigh. I guess the kids were being good. No one was freaking out. So it was ok-ish.

Eventually, finally, 90 minutes after we got there, we paid. After the trade in, and after the $20 that I owed Tom for babysitting, I paid $33 for games. I got 2 Wii games for Captain America for 2nd Christmas (I hope he likes them!!! I think he will), 4 for the house (PS2), a Wii game, Tom got 4, Jake got 4, and Tom got a controller for the Ps2. Not bad, huh??? And then we headed into the PX for a Taco Bell Beanie Cheesie Nasty.

And headed home. I got there in time to get the kids situated, and settled in with their new games for the night, and I headed over to Kims house. We were going to a movie! I had 3 girls say that they could go :)

Kim and I went to pick up Julia, then headed to the theater. And we met Jane there! There were SO many people in line. Luckily, it was moving fast. We got our 710 tickets for Footloose, and got in the popcorn line.

We were all going in on a combo, so Kim and Julia went to get seats, and Jane and I went to get the food. And by the time we got our food, and found the right theater and the girls, the movie was already started! Dang. I transferred our first refill into the waterbottle, then went out to get the 2nd refill. And missed more of the movie. Crap.

I'd missed the first 10-15 minutes at least when I finally sat down. It was a good movie, though! I liked it. It was a bit hoochie feeling at parts. Too much skin. A little too much bumping and grinding for my liking. But the music was great! I'd say, not for young teens. But good for grown ups! I found myself singing along with the songs (sorry girls - ha!)

We stood around and chatted for quite a while after the movie, then finally headed home. It really was a great girls night out :) Thanks for playing, girls! We dropped Julia off at her house, and Kim and I both realized that we were missing essential things in our household. Toilet Paper for me, and trash bags for her. Yeah, essentials! So off to Walmart we headed.

And grabbed the few things that we needed, and dittle dattled around for the few things that we didn't. That's the fun part of Walmart, you know. Just browsing, and see what's there. Turns out, there was a HUGE clearance section there tonight. I ended up getting super long Xmas socks for a dollar. And some 2 packs of colorful socks for a dollar. And this cool watch!
I got a Texas Longhorns Basketball jersey and shorts for Joe for only $3. That wasn't bad. And a few other things. Anyway, we paid, and she brought me home. My kids were supposed to have gone to bed at 8:30pm. Well, the little kids went to bed at 8:30pm. Jake and Tom were still up and playing games. It was like 12 something....

So I made them turn it off, and go to bed. Seriously, you guys. It's "Practice going to bed early" night. hehe. And I went into my room to try and blog. Scrap that. To just post the WordArt. I was tired. I'll blog in the morning.

Then, I went to check to make sure that the kids really went to bed. And I caught Jake in his room with a laptop and headphones! Seriously??? Did you not learn your lesson last night??? So I took the laptop, and went back to my room. And posted the WordArt.

Then Jake came in, all apologetic. Can he PLEASE not be in trouble. He was sorry. What about last night, I said. Well, THIS time he was REALLY sorry... Um, no. I told him that his punishment was either "electronics with no friends" or "friends with no electronics". It was a hard choice for him to make. I told him to let me know in the morning.

He got angry, and stomped out and slammed the door. Yeah, by then, I didn't really care. I just let him go, and didn't blog, tied up the computer, and went to bed. I listened to music on my phone (which I usually don't), and went to sleep WAY later than I should have. Sigh.

Anyway, that was my day :) See why I didn't blog. hehe :) So, if you are looking for the wordart, it's in the post previous to this one. This one just has the blog from today :)