Since all of my friends are updating their blogs I guess I might as well update mine. The very last day of October and the first two days of November have been very life changing.
Tommy took off to work as usual on Saturday morning, October 31, 2009. He called me at his first break and asked me to text his ex wife (Kayde) and let her know that his schedule for work was different than normal on Saturday so he would be at her house to pick Daelynn up for his "scheduled visitation" an hour earlier than usual. (I put those words in quotes because they have been quoted to me so much by Kayde lately that I could gag). He also let me know that his cell phone was almost dead because he didn't charge it the previous night. Make a long story short, Kayde pulled out the only loop hole that she had to deny Tommy time with Daelynn. She couldn't really come up with a good reason for him to not be able to pick her up. She pulled out their decree, did the math and in her Kayde way informed me that we "somehow managed to get our weekends switched, and in fact, it is not his scheduled weekend". She convienently did not recall that she voluntarily switched the court ordered weekends when she was dating Carl so that they could have all three children one weekend and we could have all three children the next. Hhmm...glad I don't have to look in that mirror. I am too honest of a person to pull something like that off. This has forced us into a less than pleasant situation. Now Chris & Kayla will not get to see Daelynn because they will be with Carl while Daelynn is with us. After discussing this with Tommy he called Kayde to discuss it with her. This is when my little bubble got deflated. Instead of standing up for all that I had battled with the entire day he simply caved in and conceeded to make the switch. Thanks for standing united. It will not be the optimal situation. I can rest easy about it because I know it is not by my hand. When Daelynn starts asking why she can't be involved in all of the family functions with Chris & Kayla or the family pictures, etc...I will be able to say that she should discuss it with her mom and dad. I hate it for my kids because that makes them hate Kayde that much more. I also removed some of my Facebook "friends" because it was a necessary thing for my own state of mind. That was very difficult and many tears were shed over it, but I hope it will be for the best. Fortunately, that was the only negative part of my update.
November opened a new door for us. We officially withdrew Chris & Kayla from public school today. We also began our homeschooling schedule today. It was a very pleasant day. We started the morning off with Chris reading to the family from Beowolf. Following that Kayla read to us from Polyanna. Both kids spent about 45 minutes brushing up on their math skills. Tommy took them outside and facilitated PE for an hour. We set up the criteria for the reports they need to write for Social Studies. They will be reading from a piece of literature titled Our Little Indian Cousin (Mary Hazelton Wade) 1901. This is a brand new adventure for us and I hope it is a pleasant one. Chris was chipper all day long and really enjoyed his "guy time" outside with Tommy. Kayla was very happy that she could wear her side ponytail and not have to listen to any criticism for it. I believe that the drama free lifestyle of homeschooling is going to be great for my kids. I am looking forward to seeing Chris & Kayla blossom into their own independent, unique selves. I am also glad that I am learning what to do for Logan when he is old enough to start school.
If any of my friends would like to start homeschooling their children and are intimidated by it, I am totally available to talk with them about it. I think it is the best thing parents can do for their children. I am surprised at just how happy I am as a granola mom!
