Happy Easter!

The eggs have all been accounted for. Ryli has rifled all the way through her Easter basket, while Landry pretty much lost all interest in his once he saw his T-Rex.. He wasn't "in" the basket, being that he was too stinking big. Landry has been no more than a few inches from T-Rex. Ryli has been playing LPS at my other desk. It's been a pretty chill morning. The kids have been up since around 6:30. The Easter Bunny almost got busted. Figures the one time my alarm goes off that it wakes up a kid is when I'm playing Easter Bunny.

They went off happily to Memaw and Pepaw's, with minimal whining about missing the egg hunt that the complex was throwing on "our" playground. The rain helped on that one; I just told them it had been cancelled. Turns out, they still had it, but they had at least ten huge storage tubs of filled eggs, and not nearly enough of a turn out. So I asked if I could get a bag for Ryli and Landry since they were with their father. The kids now each have a bag full of plastic eggs when they get home.

Tag has been sleeping off and on all day. He did wake up while I was vacuuming. He bit my sweats and tried to pull me as I vacuumed. I got some dog food from my neighbor. Still no hits on the Craigslist ad. I must admit, I hope no one misses him. I suspect that no one will. The kids slept in my bed last night, along with Tag, who alternately cuddled with both of them all through the night. Ryli named him Tag, but Landry has given him another name that I can't quite pronounce. 

I am going to spend the last of my reprieve from the kids cleaning my desk (yawn), assembling my control journals, and making chore charts for the week. I'm pretty certain that the kids will be ready for bed within an hour of getting back home. They are rarely up before 8:00 when they're healthy. After they go down, I'll curl up in my bed and watch "Wolf Hall" on PBS, then read some Bring Up the Bodies to try and get it done prior to that half of the miniseries! 

Mommy's Relief

I love all my kids to the edge of the known universe and back about a bazillion times. Dacey, Connor, and Tucker don't live with me, but I miss them constantly. Landry and Ryli, however, are with me 24/7, with the exception of visitation weekends. Six hours Saturday and Sunday, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends of the month. Then, I surrender them to their grandparents so they can visit their father. Noon until 6:00 on those weekends, I'm kidless.

At first, it was a lot to take in. I spent each six hour stretch worried that their father would take them and not surrender them. From June 17 until August 23, I had them all the time. Following the advice of my attorney, I kept them, save for a few outings that they made with Memaw and Pepaw. I supplied them with the current temporary protective order until we finally went to court August 19 and I was granted the two year order of protection for myself and the kids. The judge put supervised visitation because of his past behaviors.

The first several weekends damn near drove me nuts. I was a mess. After years of threats, it wasn't surprising that I had a bit of trouble at the start. Then, they'd get home, and all was right with the world again, until the next time. It was a tad maddening the things Ryli would come home saying. She'd tell me how much daddy loved and missed me, and that we could get back together if I'd promise to be nice to him. It was hard not to laugh, especially when Landry would weigh in saying "Daddy is a jerk to Mommy". I don't talk about him like that... that was his spontaneous reaction to what Ryli was saying.

Then, he just started buying them pretty much anything that they wanted when he was with them. He successfully undermined the months I'd spent breaking them from expecting something ever time they entered a store. He stopped that, probably because it was costing him too much. He just tells them to ask me. 

Now, I'm used to the visitation. I actually look forward to it. Its nice to be able to get things done without them under foot. I even get a nap in from time to time. I still fret, and I think that I always will. That just comes with motherhood, I think. I'll just continue to do what I do during my little reprieves.