This photo was actually taken a year ago… not long after meeting David. Earlier in the day, I stabbed myself with a knife while slicing potatoes. What can I say? I’m just graceful in that way!

Later, we took the kids out to the deer camp and I snapped a photo of David holding my band-aid accessorized hand in his. From the moment I saw the photo, I’ve loved it. It seemed to say so many things all on it’s own.

At the time the photo was taken, I really felt as though I was a lost soul. Alone again without a partner. Alone again to some how raise my boys to be men. I truly felt as though I’d be operating thru life for awhile with band-aids to hold it all together.

Then I met David. It was as if God knew what I needed and sent him at the perfect time. David just seemed to be the band-aid that we ALL needed. The more I got to know David, it was as if WE were the band-aid he needed as well.

And now, my friends, it seems to be only the beginning of the story.

After attending church on Sunday, July 5th, David proposed.

After getting it thru my thick head that he was serious (he had to ask several times) I said, “Yes”!

The kids are excited and immediately began planning an official wedding (Wrangler tried to arrange a shot gun wedding for us on a three day weekend from school before summer started)! I’m looking forward to being a family that everyone is excited about being in.

I probably never have to worry about being rich (at this rate, what a blessing!) but I still don’t think it’s right to insanely tax and take from those that have more. It just makes no sense. When they’re drained dry, who will continue to keep those that were originally “doing without” in their new lifestyle? Hmmm?

I love my family. Really I do. They are some crazy, loveable, funny people, but now I definitely know where I get my ‘inability to accomplish a friggin thing’ syndrome.

Some moms have extended families that actually pick their kids up from school every day. Some families juggle blended families and in-laws and outlaws like it’s a walk in the park EVERY DAY.

I can’t even get friggin date night. Not even.

It’s not like it’s always an agenda against me or anything. Sometimes it really is just a fluke. Flukes happen a lot in my family. Flukes happen to ME a lot. Really. In fact, if it weren’t for flukes, I’d probably actually blog EVERY DAY. Or something like that.

All summer long, every time someone in the family has offered to keep the kids so I could get some work accomplished, get a break or maybe have a date night… the most unreal, off the wall thing happens or ‘nothing’ happens so fast it’s midnight before anyone picks up the kids. Really.

OR… my oldest boy goes off with one person and the younger two are taken with someone else but they are all picked up at different times and brought home at different times (or they don’t know when they’ll bring them home) so I can’t actually plan anything or go anywhere. I couldn’t practice crappy birth control methods if I wanted to with that type of break!

I have a really sweet man in my life that adores me. Really. It’s amazing that he still hangs around when I can’t even go to dinner alone unless it’s Pizza Hut or Taco Bell in the five minutes notice we get that we might be kid free for 30 minutes. I guess it’s a good cheap date, but not very romantic. Unless maybe that’s why he adores me… I’m the cheapest date in history. I’ll think about that later…

Tonight, my oldest boy left with Boo for an overnight trip to Oklahoma. The younger boys went with Nannie to their second cousin’s birthday party. Out in the boonies. For real.

I actually got excited thinking, “Yeah baby! I’m gonna get a real date night or at least be alone with David”. Pfffft. Whatever.

The FLUKE strikes again. Another cousin of ours gets dunked in the swimming pool and when he comes up, some kid at the party gets his tooth imbedded in my cousin’s head (I couldn’t make this crap up if tried). So Nannie takes him to the E.R in town.

Meanwhile, I’m alone with David, but still stuck at home because I don’t know what time my kids will be back. It gets later and later. I’m sorta gritting my teeth because we could have actually had a sit down dinner in a real restaurant, but who’s complaining?

Finally, at 9:30 the phone rings. It’s my aunt. She’s just now telling me about the tooth in the head ordeal and that my kids are still at her house. Here’s the good news: I can come get them another teenage cousin (yeah, I have A LOT of cousins) can drive them all the way back to town and bring them home because Nannie is still at the E.R. (imagine that).

Long story short… rather than have three more family members in the E.R. because my two youngest decided to argue in the backseat while a teenager drove them home from the boonies in the dark and got distracted, David and I went to get the kids and got home an hour later.

I’m beginning to think date nights are just over-rated. I was hoping to have a few dates before I actually get married again, but it’s not looking good so far. It’s actually less work to stay at home with kids 24/7 than get a sitter these days!

Grumble over. For Now. Really.

This isn’t your average baby bird falling from the nest story. Nuh uh. Far from it!

One afternoon I had the sliding glass screen door to the patio open and heard the strangest unnerving noise followed by the most annoying squealing of my two youngest sons.

The boys were standing over the chickens (remember those adorable little chicks they talked me into?) and freaking out. I couldn’t see what the chickens were doing for the boys, but I could tell they were really making a fuss…

So I run out there and these #%$! chickens each have in their beaks a defenseless baby bird that fell from a nest and they’re yanking at it in a horrid game of 4-way tug of war!

I chase the chickens away and try to figure out what to do. I couldn’t see the nest from the ground but I also knew I couldn’t leave the bird where it was or the chickens would attack it again. So I did what any well meaning mother would do. I brought the bird in the house in hopes of protecting it and nursing it back to health.

Obviously, the birdie didn’t make it.

The boys were crushed when they came home from school the next day and wanted to have a funeral for the bird immediately. I asked David to help the boys while I got the camera. I was so impressed that they chose a lovely spot in the flower bed and David prepared a tombstone for it. Wrangler even dug the hole himself with my little gardening shovel.

How’s the chickens doing you ask? They aren’t even cute anymore. Just annoying, trouble making birds that crap all over the patio and peck any living creature that gets in their path. This includes the family dog.

After my sweet dog started yelping one evening and I went to the patio to open the door and see what was wrong, she nearly knocked me over while running to get inside the house (she’s an outside dog). The chickens were attacking her!

The boys and David got busy the next day building the chickens their very own prison. Didn’t they do a great job?

Now the patio stays clean and all the backyard wildlife is safe again.

We ended up with 2 roosters and 2 hens. The dang roosters learned to crow this week. Why won’t they just shut up already? I think I’ll be inviting my grandmother over to teach me to prepare a rooster from the from coop to the frying pan soon. Those darn hens better get to laying eggs or they’re next!

I loved watching Farrah Fawcett on Charlie’s Angels when I was a girl. Ask anyone which angel was their favorite and you’ll almost always hear Farrah as their answer.

Boys may have hung the Farrah Fawcett Red Swimsuit Poster on their walls but I wanted to BE Farrah. Or at least LOOK like her (didn’t you?). Even in movies where she was supposed to look worn out and used up, like The Burning Bed and The Substitute Wife, I’d still love to look that good! Actually, I’d just be happy settling with her bad hair day. That would be better than mine!

I’m impressed with her cancer fight until the very end. I’m looking forward to seeing the last of her story documenting her cancer fight that was she was working on. I was saddened to hear that she lost her battle last Friday.

It’s been a bittersweet week of thinking back on my personal childhood memories in many ways. Goodbye Farrah. Thanks for being a part of my good memories!

http://www.goodbirthcontrol.com/blog/random-rantings
http://www.goodbirthcontrol.com/blog/my-apology-to-martha-stewart

I’m not a total Michael Jackson hater. Really. I grew up with Michael and sang along with him just like many of you did. I attempted his moves and I giggled every time he squealed and grabbed his crotch area. Honestly, I still can’t believe that my mother bought his music and allowed us to watch his videos. I guess in some way she thought he was my generation’s Elvis and didn’t want to deprive us of the moment.

I watched Michael evolve into a human freak show as I grew up. I think he was HOT before he manipulated his face and his skin mysteriously whitened. I honestly believe the pressure to do the next unbelievable thing for attention and keep him in the media was really the reason for most of the things he did.

I think Michael’s success and attention grabbing antics greatly contributed to making him a victim of frivolous lawsuits and blackmail.

EXCEPT…

All the negative, shady speculation and accusations about his inappropriate behavior with children can’t be untrue. I could see maybe one or two children being manipulated by their parents, stretching the truth or blatantly lying. Again, in those cases, I said manipulated by their parents for monetary opportunities.

BUT…

My instinct says Michael took advantage of his celebrity position to be inappropriate with children.

Here’s something you probably don’t know…

As a victim of child molestation myself, making a huge national news story of the situation is probably the last thing you’d ever want. It’s embarrassing enough to tell your parents. It’s too shameful to tell your friends about. It haunts you forever, even when it’s a secret between only you and your violator.

There’s only a few reasons to motivate you to tell someone.

1. You don’t know how else to make it stop.
2. You want to protect others – such as your siblings.

I was violated by two different individuals as a child. The first I never reported because I stayed clear of being put in the situation again. The second offender couldn’t be avoided. I told because I wanted it to stop and I wanted my sister and other young family members to be safe. The situation was handled quietly but I still had to see the offender often enough. To this day, my own children have been in this person’s presence about three times, and I have never been sweet to the person or left them alone with my children.

I have great respect for families that prosecute child violators and protect their children and future child victims. I have the greatest respect for the victim for speaking up and making it stop.

I don’t think there is any excuse for being sexually inappropriate with a child in any way. I don’t care who you are, what your past experiences are, or what pressures you face in your daily life. This includes Michael.

That being said, rest in peace, Michael. Goodbye to a wonderful childhood memory that made me giggle and pushed me forward to be unique and awesome despite the odds.

And finally, good riddance, Michael. Goodbye to the man that awakened my childhood nightmares that I longed to forget. Goodbye to the man that reminded me every bright person has his own dark side.