Okay guys. I have decided that it is time to get back in to blogging. I need to start sharing some of my crafty things and telling some of the day to day stuff that has been going on in our lives. Facebook is nice but it just can't replace the blog!

So, just a quick update and then I will share a few things I have been working on. Kids are all doing well. Think the end of the school year is hitting because they have been pretty cranky lately. Skylar is in 3rd grade. She is leaving tomorrow for a weekend camping trip with her Girl Scout troop. Brayden is in Kindergarten and has kind of a rough year. His teacher was just not cut out to teach young children and that has led to quite a bit of squaring off this year. Thankfully there are only two weeks left. Peyton...all I can say is "Oh MY!" She is still in the 3 year old class at Miss Edies and so has another year or so before she will go to "real" school. I can only pity them when she does though because, MAN, she is a handful! Gotta love 'em but some days they can truly try your patience! Here is an updated picture from a few weekends ago...

So now a few crafty things. I am really working to build up my stamping business. I have a great group of local girls that meet once a month to make cards and I love them to death. We really have a lot of fun and I enjoy teaching them new things. So, in honor of them (hopefully some will be reading) I am going to attempt to keep up with my blog and definitely add a lot of new crafty projects and ideas. Here are just a few of the projects I have made lately with my favorite new Stampin' Up! set Elements of Style...

Well, the second day of school is over and we are halfway into the third. The mornings have gone extremely well considering how early everyone has to get up. I imagine that will change as we all get settled into routine and start getting more comfortable. The kids are actually riding the same bus which is nice because I don't have to worry so much about Brayden. (Now if I could just keep them from fighting with each other...lol)


Brayden did have a couple of notes in his folder last night about not listening and keeping his hands to himself. Killian, one of his best friends from Miss Edies, is in his class and apparently they wanted to play instead of listen. I talked to him about it last night and again this morning trying to reinforce that this is school now and he has to follow Ms. Sprouse's rules.


Got an email from Killian's mom Holly today and she was stopped by Ms Sprouse when she dropped Killian off this morning. Apparently Ms Sprouse feels that we were negligent in allowing the boys to be in the same class together. We should have requested them to be in different classes and that they were just feeding off of each other. Ummmm...I am sorry. As a teacher, isn't that your responsibility to control those types of situations in your classroom? I mean, first of all, the school district could not possibly be able to separate every child who knows each other in their classrooms. Secondly, I am not there during the day to hand hold my child. I can talk to him at night and impress my expectations, but she is the teacher. It is up to her to follow through with the rules of the classroom and maintain order. I am not one of those mom's who believes her children are angels (Trust me, I have been through this many years with my high spirited first born, lol) and I don't think that teachers should be responsible for everything but c'mon! It is only the 2nd day of school and he is only 4 years old! Kids will be kids and it is up to her to teach them the way when they are in her class!

Okay, off my soapbox. I just seem to go through this every year and it just frustrates me to no end. I believe wholeheartedly in parental involvement but there is only so much we can do when we are not there. KWIM?

Well, it has truly been forever since I posted and I really hadn't intended to return to the Blog World in quite this fashion but there it is. I started this blog to document our daily lives...the good, the bad, and the ugly...and I have to tell you, it has gotten pretty ugly around here lately.

This weekend I had to ask my husband of almost 9 years to move out. Things had gotten to a point where, for the sake of our children, we could not go on the way that we were. So, today we spent packing up all of his belongings and moving him across town to his parents. It was undoubtedly one of the hardest days of my life. I was quite proud of the way that I handled myself and didn't break down until his truck was pulling out of the drive carrying a lot of our 10 years with it.

I can't decide how I am feeling right now. Relief that the decision has been made and that it is over. Anger that I wasn't enough for him. Fear of what the future holds for me and the kids. Anxiety about how we are going to make it on our own. Shame that once again I have failed. Regret over the love that is lost. Alone in my big empty bed.

I don't know what the future has in store for us. I wholeheartedly believe that God has a plan for me and am trying with all I have to keep believing in that. I know that I made the right choice for myself based on the way things have gone the last few days, but it is so hard to let go of all those dreams and hopes that we shared. There were so many things that we were going to do. So many places to see and dreams to accomplish. As hard as it is to see through the fog right now, I know that there will be a brighter ending.

I am a strong person. I can do anything that I set my mind to and my children are the most important thing right now. I will be strong for them. I will pull myself together for them and be the best Mommy that I can be. They did not deserve this. They did not ask for this. All they have ever asked for were two parents who love them unconditionally. We are going to give them that but separately from now on.

I apologize for the sadness of this post. Writing for me has always been cathartic and it helps for me to get things written down. This has been no exception. It is a way of venting I suppose. My plan is to continue updating the blog now (hopefully with more cheerful news, lol) and letting people know how we are doing. Hopefully I will also get up some pictures and some crafty things.

Thanks for listening. God bless!