ATWT: MY DATE WITH A MUCH YOUNGER, HOTTER MAN!

Yes, I am married!

Yes, Hubs knew about the date and was ok with it!

No, we are not in an open relationship!

The younger man is taken too!

We invited his girlfriend BUT she was out of town so it was just the two of us at the park on a WONDERFUL fall evening!

Hubs took Elijah to the TU football game along with his football team and their families.  I was footballed out!  Yes 'footballed' is a word!  The team got to go out onto the field and even made it on the 10 o'clock news!  Woohoo!

I decided I needed a night out and I found the perfect young man to join me!

He is a little hottie!

Irresistible in fact!

Yes, he is a little stubborn or headstrong like myself but again the irresistible part took over.

He didn't have money since he is jobless but I offered to pay.

He has a few minor obsessions and I catered to them all!

Here he is the much younger man I dated for one evening

 I know, right!  I am one lucky lady!

Parks are his fun obsession.  We went to "his" park.... just the two of us.  All of his birthday parties have been at this park so he has claimed it as his own.  Not many little boys have their very own park!

He's a real swinger! lol

The next stop is his favorite obsession of all.....ICE CREAM!  We went to Braum's and out of all of those flavors he still picked his trusty favorite - "baniwa" or vanilla as we know it!  This kid loves ice cream.  I hardly ever buy it since welllllll I love it too and I will eat it.  Meme always have "baniwa" ice cream for him but we went to the ice cream store....just the two of us!

After one scoop of ice cream and one for the road.....I know "sucker" right.....we went to Target to check out the Halloween costume aisles which totally sucked by the way.  They normally have like four aisles of just costumes but this new Target just had one aisle.  ONE for kids and adults, seriously Target you are letting me down here!  We walked through ALL the toy aisles where he claimed to want "all the boy toys and no girl toys" for his birthday.  I said, "ok!"  The boys know I don't just buy them toys everytime we go to the store so both of them ask for everything for their birthdays and I say yes!  They won't remember by then and don't realize how far away their birthdays are.....if they only knew how close Christmas is!!  Hey it works with no begging and no tears!  Then we went home and I must admit I still got it.......I totally wear out my dates!

He didn't even make it to his bed and crashed about 5 minutes after we arrived back home!  A perfect ending to a perfect date with my little man!

A THOUSAND WORDS THURSDAY: THE SECRET LETTER

Dear Tez,

Today you turn 15 years old! Wow how time flies! You will never read this letter since I am writing it more to get things off of my chest that I can not say to you at this age. We met a little over 8 years ago not long before you turned 7. You were so much smaller then and did not eat much at all. The only things you ate were macaroni n' cheese with sugar on it {{gaggaggagagag}}, corn dogs, hot dogs and peanut butter sandwiches. Before you met me, you hadn't even eaten a piece of pizza. You now eat an array of foods...well I guess I should say you have tried an array of foods although to hear it from you some would think you are allergic to vegetables. Ha! You are handsome with a beautiful and contagious smile like your Father. I love your smile when you get embarrassed and don't know what to say and I love your smile when you realize how proud we are of you. You came to live with us when you were almost 8 but your Mother got angry over some small matter and took you back. The State leans toward the biological Mother in custody issues. At the time, we had no money to hire an attorney to fight for custody and boy do we regret that now. Over the years you made your regular visits all the while you and your mother definitely had your issues.

About two years ago she decided she did not like the "label" the school system had given you since you started school. No one wants their kid to have to be "labeled" but you have to accept it and move on to get them the help they so desperately need. Sometimes the labels are a necessary evil. She yanked you out of the special needs programs you were in and put you into the mainstream classes without informing us. The only thing this did is prove the school system was 100 % right. Your grades dropped tremendously and you began to get into trouble since now kids were making fun of you because you were not on level. She also decided that if she was tired then you did not have to go to school. For several months, you only attended two to three times per week which only made your situation worse. Of course, she was not telling us all of this until the calls started from the school. The last call was them telling us you needed to be picked up because you had been suspended the day before so you were not supposed to be on school property. They tried calling your Mother who was only one mile from the school and she told them to call your Father b/c she was tired of dealing with it and didn't know what to do. Taking you to school and putting you where you needed to be would've been a good start but in her eyes she had done the right thing. Your Father called me in a seriously bad mood saying he was leaving work to get you from school. I knew he would not be able to talk calmly to the Principal simply b/c he was so angry with your Mother for letting it come to this point without us knowing. We had been lied to for a very long time! I told him to stay at work and I would handle the situation the best I could. Upon my arrival I learned that not only had you been yanked out of your special classes because of her ego but you were not suspended. You had been expelled and were being sent to alternative school the following week. I was so shocked because you are not a bad kid. You were put in a bad situation and were falling even further behind. At the time the alternative school was getting its fair share of bad publicity and I was not about to let you be sent there without a fight only to get lost in the system that probably would not offer the courses you needed. I asked to speak to the Principal, Vice Principal and Counselors immediately and I was not leaving until I had an acceptable resolution because I was not going to let you fall through the cracks. They heard me and I was so excited. I had a mere 24 hours to pull some major strings actually less if you just count the hours of operation of the places I had to go. I had to file guardianship papers with the courts, go to the courthouse, withdrawal you from one district, enroll you into another district AND get you into the special classes that you needed. If I could do this before end of school the next day, then they would totally erase the matter and you would be ready for a fresh start with nothing on your permanent school record. I was angry, sad, scared, proud and stressed but I was willing to this do for YOU! I explained this to your Mother who and I quote said, "You can have him, where do I sign!" Now some would say she was doing this for you but I will have you know this is not true. She did not want the responsibility anymore. Your Father should have fixed things when you were little and he would go to pick you up only to find you strapped in a car seat in front of the television. Alas, he was young, stupid and broke so he did not know what to do besides love you with all of his heart and try to make the system work. Don't even get me started on the system! I think the school agreed to the terms thinking I could not get every thing done within their time line! Wrong! I managed to get everything done by 11am the next morning and then you had to go back to her house when the huge ice storm struck a few days later and we were without power. I have been to countless school meetings, 3 IEP meetings (not fun!), dentist appts., eye doctor appts., many court hearings, meeting with the lawyers, we are still paying child support even though for over 15months WE HAVE HAD CUSTODY and I totally rearranged my schedule to make sure you get to and from school EVERY DAY ON TIME! While you were with her you had actually missed more school than you had attended and this was alright in her eyes. NOW you have missed a total of three days in two years!! I think you resented us for awhile believing we "took" you away from your Mother who you are very attached to but your Mother willingly and excitedly gave you up. She showed up saying, "Where do I sign?" and repeatedly asked when it would all be done like she could not wait for it all to be legally out of her hands. We never asked for a dime of child support FROM HER as long as we could just get you into a better environment and school. I am not saying this to get Mom of the year but I have a simple request ~ when people naturally refer to me as your Mother don't give them a dirty look and rudely say, "SHE IS NOT MY MOM!" I know you like me but it sure does NOT seem that way in the moment. I have never tried to take your Mother's place but I am definitely doing HER duties as a Mother and I believe I love you more than she ever could because I don't think I could excitedly sign away any child of mine even if it was for their own good. A Mother should never want to lose her child! It hurts me every time you do it! I am an adult and I have been silent but it kills me like you would be ashamed to be my child. I have never resorted to talking trash about your Mother to you or in front of you for the simple fact that I would never want you to resent me for it. At times I think you need the whole truth and nothing but the truth but not from me. I have faith that one day in the future you will realize I have been more of a "Mother" to you then she ever has or probably ever will. I have to have this faith so my heart doesn't break. I have faith that one day you will love me like I am your Mother even though I am not well not naturally. Most of the time she doesn't even want you on her weekends but I make excuses for her so you don't get hurt. I am tired of making those excuses but you hold her in such high regard that I know it would kill you to know the truth. I guess you will have to figure it out on your own. I think at times you know but you just are in denial.

I took you in willingly and I treat you like my own. You are earning all A's and B's now and I am prouder than ever of the young man you have become. You have never been a "bad" kid at least not around us and we knew you could do it if given the right opportunities, boundaries, environment and LOVE. We never had the problems that your Mother has reported but I know it is not all her because I am sure you had to act out to get attention. You are a good, kind, loving and RESPECTFUL young man. People compliment us as parents all the time because of how well you behave and how respectful you are. Yes, you get in trouble from time to time and you are extremely moody but find me a teenager that never gets in trouble or isn't moody and I'll give you a million dollars! Well you know far too well I don't have a million BUT you get the point. I don't necessarily need you to call me Mom or say to others that I am BUT I do wish you wouldn't get so offended when people naturally think I am your Mother. I do everything for you that a Mother is supposed to do and more just like I do with your little brothers and people do NOT automatically know your situation. I am proud of you son and I love you dearly! I just wish you could love me and be proud of me too!

Love always,

Angela

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TWO CENTS TUESDAY ~ INSPIRATION

OOPS!

If you are here for Wordful Wednesday, then I am sorry but I linked up with the wrong post and will link up again with the right post later!

Sorry!

Who inspires me?

My parents

My parents have been married for 45 years ~ need I say more!!

Yes they have had ups and downs but EVERY marriage will.

Although they are not perfect, they have made it through the good, the bad and the ugly and made their marriage a priority unlike others who put marriage on the back burner.

They are still in love even though they still don't love every thing about each other.

They fight like any other human who wants to be right but their fights are funny to me!

I know it might sound bad but I hope when it is their time that they will go to heaven together b/c I could not bare to see the pain of them being apart from one another!

HOW WE MET ~ PART 1

Several people have emailed and asked how Hubs and I met so here is the story...hang on....

We actually met in the Spring of 1997 when he came to my friend's parents' house with her then boyfriend. He was nice, polite and very smiley. At the time, we were both with someone else and nothing ever came about other than us meeting one another. Now I must note here that at that moment he drove a 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme aka BIG old car and it was yellow. Apparently, we lived about 1/4 of a mile from each other and over the years we saw each other at the gas station from time to time. He ALWAYS recognized me but I could NEVER remember his name or how I knew him. He would ask how my friend and her son were doing then would say to tell them Hi and each and EVERY time I would see him he would smile from ear to ear! I could NEVER remember his name and felt bad so I would never ask. I would always call my friend and say, "Hey I saw the Smiley Banana Boat man again and he asked about you! He is so smiley!" She would always say, "I just love him. He is so sweet!"

Well come to find out the people we were in relationships with had been with each other in the past and behind our backs they were off and on still.....good thing we got rid of them. We both rid our lives of those scum buckets and moved on.

About 9 months after the breakups and almost 4 yrs since our original meeting, we saw each other again in late December of 2000. We were at a hole in the wall bar called Three Frogs where my friend and I were regulars (wow how times have changed!) who loved to dance. We were dancing and he kept staring at me. I kept trying to point him out to her because I did NOT recognize him at all and his incessant staring was beyond annoying to me. When she finally saw him, she screamed and ran to give him a hug saying "That is the guy you call Banana Boat man!" I kept dancing and she coaxed him out onto the dance floor to dance with us. Now I must say it is a good thing I was not looking for a man that could dance because this man could not catch a beat to save his life. BAD. REALLY. BAD. He still can not dance and I am almost positive he is tone deaf too. Man can not dance or sing and I have yet to find a rhythmic bone in his body but I love his body ~ missing bone and all!

By this time, he had longer hair. Not LONG but longer and in little twisty things ~ yes yet again this is a highly technical African American hair term ~ which I hated. I do not like guys with long hair. I do not like boys with long hair. I just don't. Personal preference so don't get all offended. NOW Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall.........I certainly liked him with long hair!!! Please hold while I drool over my current mental image..................

In my teenage years their were plenty of long haired rockers I fawned over but not now. My friend gave him my number without my knowing and insisted that we should be together. He would call and we would chat IF I answered the phone but I just was not attracted to him. He seemed very nice but I just wasn't sure. I had major trust issues at the time. I just wanted time to myself after being with a loser for over 3 years then with a hot guy with NO self esteem and major paranoia for 6 months. He still kept calling and asking me to go out but I had started some night classes and I always found some excuse. Eventually he asked flat out so I was honest and said "I am NOT attracted to men with longer hair AT ALL. You are nice but I just can't right now." My thoughts with this answer were (1) he could lie and toy around with me if I mentioned trust issues which could hurt me again and (2) what guy would chop his hair off for a date.

My friend and I were always together and somehow Banana Boat man would show up in odd places. Coincidence ~ I think not, he had a little birdie in his ear! We had been shopping and he had overheard us talking about a pair of shoes I wanted to buy so he secretly bought them. That evening he came over to her house, knocked on the door and the rest as they say is history......

...just kidding.......

....I opened the door to find him holding a present for me and he had CUT HIS HAIR OFF! Needless to say, I was shocked! WHO cuts their hair to get a date? WHO buys someone shoes to get a date? Now granted they were not the right shoes and I wore them only once but I could NOT BELIEVE he even THOUGHT about ME. And cutting his hair ~ who does that?!?! I was speechless which VERY RARELY happens to me! The only thing he said was, "Will you please go out with me now?" With tears in my eyes, I said a quivery "sure".............wow he was so thoughtful.....who knew......WHO cuts their hair just to land a date?!?!?

STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO

ZAY'S ADDICTION FOR HIS QT!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Better late than never!

Zay just loves my friend Shan's little girl Quinlynne who will be called Q in this post. He loves her even though she tattles when scribbles. He loves her even though she has learned to use her selective listening skills when he won't leave her alone. He is her Diego and she is his Dora. I know Dora and Diego are actually cousins but they don't have a clue! Even though lately they have not seen much of each other, it really doesn't matter in his mind. She is never far away from his thoughts!

Hubs has a mixed CD that he plays in the truck and Isaiah is obsessed with one song. It is Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson doing a remix of The Girl is Mine. Isaiah will listen to it over and over and over again while singing each and every word. Yes we could easily refuse to not put it on repeat but when he sings it well simply put it is just too cute! Elijah asked Zay who he girl is and in total Isaiah fashion he said, "Twinilwynne is my girl!" He can't yet say her name and that too annoys Quinlynne but he does not care. We laugh about them being betrothed and laugh at the torture they will go through once they have children and that my friends is our favorite part!

Oh I must add ~ when the part Paul McCartney says - Now Michael we aren't going to fight about this (or something like that) I like to add "because you know you really like young boys"! Sad but I think it is funny! You can play the song below if you want to hear ~ I just wish you could hear Zay sing it!

JUST KIDDING!

I added like a zillion different music players to this post. Although they all worked and showed up, they would screw up my sidebar each and every time. SO I played with the html for about an hour until I am so ticked off that I am just giving you the link if you want to hear the song I am talking about!