Good News!

Brittany is officially staying where she belongs... with us! Brittany called her mom today to tell her how she felt and what she wanted to do and although Brittany didn't say much(because her mother pretty much yelled at her the whole damn time) but in the end we got what we wanted to hear. So we should be getting a letter shortly giving Chris permission to have Brittany here with us. Chris and Brittany plan on going next weekend to retrieve the rest of Brittany's belongings.

We also celebrated by buying Brittany a new cell phone because her mother told her she would be shutting off the one she has now, and also taking her off the medical insurance, so... Chris will be adding her on his asap. Although I am truly disappointed in the way her mother behaved I am glad she behaved that way because now her daughter sees her for what she truly is.

Now we have to tackle the girls room to make it more livable for two people. It's somewhat cramped and furniture needs to be moved around and some taken out of the room completely. I would like to paint the bottom half where there is a border that also needs to be removed. Since the top half of the room is pink and Brittany is by no means into pink, we are going to paint the bottom half blue(which is her favorite color) and put some type of chair rail to separate the colors. I will post a picture of how it is now soon and maybe I could get some of your ideas on how to make it more compatible for two totally different tastes.

Blogathon '07 Update

Regalo Boutique will be extending the deadline for our contribution to Kat's Blogathon. 20% of our total sales until August 15th will be donated to the Montel Williams MS Foundation that Kat is blogging for. We have extended our deadline because we truly believe this is a much needed cause to find a cure for.

This is your last reminder....

Tomorrow starting at 9am (EST) Kat will be starting her marathon of blogging, better known as Blogathon '07, to raise money for The Montel MS Foundation. If any of you are interested in helping her keep awake for the 24 hour blogathon she will be available through IM. She will post how to reach her.

Also ending on July 29th will be Regalo Boutique's quest to help Kat. Remember... we will donate 20% of the total sales to Kat's charity. I realize that many of you may be skeptical on buying online, and that's ok it you choose not to contribute that way but please visit Kat's site and sponsor her efforts!

I do want to thank all of you that have made a contribution and/or purchased from my online store. We will be getting our business geared for yet another sale so drop by and check it out!

All settled in... FINALLY!

It took us almost 5 hours to unload my parents U-Haul and fill the storage unit. I have never seen so much crap in my life. We had to unload the boxes first and put them aside while we took each piece of furniture into the 10 x 10 climate controlled unit. Chris is an expert when it comes to packing and he had it all the way to the top of the ceiling and right up to the door.

We took my mom and dad back to our house for dinner. Since no one was in the mood for cooking we got KFC and chilled for a little while.

I have never fallen asleep so quickly as I did last night. Chris woke up this morning with a very sore back and he stayed home today from work today. I envied him the whole stinkin' day I was at work.

Brittany and Grandma finally flew back from P.A. and she is all settled back upstairs. She had a good time and that was good for her. Chris and Brittany will be calling her mom this weekend. I am praying that everything goes well.

They finally made it!

My parents are finally here! We helped them unload most of my dad's tools, motorcycle, bikes and boat paraphernalia into our garage. We will be taking the rest of their belongings to a storage unit tomorrow. My parents will be living with my grandparents until they find a house of their own.

My grandmother emptied three drawers in the spare bedroom dresser for my parents. Only THREE! My parents have boxes of clothes. I know my dad will be looking for a place before the weekend:)

I have the day off from work tomorrow so I will be helping them unload the rest of their accumulated stuff:)

Another Saturday

Today wasn't bad. I got some cleaning done. We had Chris' dad over for dinner while Chris' mom and Brittany are in Pennsylvania visiting relatives. They are coming back on Thursday. We are not sure whether Brittany is going to be able to stay permanently or not. Her mother hasn't called Chris back and tomorrow it will be a stinking week. Brittany is determined to stay and we want her to stay but Chris is pretty sure that his ex wife will raise a stink. Brittany will be 18 in October and she hasn't spent any time with us (except once a year when she stays with Chris' parents) in 6 years. Chris has visitation but his ex refused to let him take her for weekends or even call the house to talk to her. Yes, he could have taken her to court but we didn't really have the money to spend on a lawyer. Brittany is dreading the possibility of going back and we know that if she does she will just runaway again. We will know for sure when she gets back from P.A. because Chris and Brittany will be calling her mom to give her the scoop. Wish us luck.

Lightning strikes again....

So, I was in the middle of composing a post when ZAP all the lights went out. Mind you I am at work, but they are pretty lax if you keep up with your work. So now I have to remember what I was saying. Oh well... We have been watching the afternoon T-storm here and man it's gorgeous to see the bluish black sky and the bright white lightning span across the sky. I have always loved thunderstorms even as a child I could watch for hours.

We are just now getting in to the rainy season in Florida. Normally you would have at least one afternoon shower a day. We have just a few so far. It's nice because it cools the temp down just a little while it rains but as soon as it stops the temperature goes back up.

Ok.. got work to do.

He is truly Fabulous!

Thank you Mr. Fabulous for your order! I know your friend will love the gift:)
Mr. Fab lives in Gainesville Florida and is a HUGE Gator's fan. He has some amazing Sculpey's ( in case you do not know what that is check out his site).
Mr. Fab is down with the Shingle's at the moment but I have been told directly from him that he has his narcotics and will be just fine:)
I know that once you visit his blog you will definitely be a regular!

Check out the status of the amount to be donated so far in my side bar. You guys are simply amazing and I truly appreciate the generosity in every one of you!

Anonymous Love...

We got our first order from a yet to be named sponsor. Thank you whoever you are. I mean I know your name but I do not know what Blog you are affiliated with if any:)

Remember everyone, this is for Kat and her efforts to support the Montel Williams MS Foundation. Kat will be blogging every half hour for 24 hours straight to raise money for this organization as a part of the Blogathon '07.

Again thank you so much!

Announcement

Regalo Boutique will be participating in helping Kat achieve and possibly surpass her goal for the Blogathon. Starting tomorrow, July 15th and ending July 29th, Regalo Boutique will donate 20% of it's total sales to the charity in which Kat is blogging for.

I will be keeping a record of sales and of course the percentage pledge so far on my side bar so that you can see the progress. I will also post a shout out to every one of you that participates. Please email me(mnetsrek@yahoo.com) or post a comment and let me know that you have ordered and I will announce it here. We need to pull together and help a good cause. Thanks to all in advance, You ROCK!

Blogathon '07

Kat will be participating on July 28th. She will post every half hour for 24 hours straight in order to raise money for her charity which is for the Montel Williams MS Foundation. You can read more on this disease here .The reason she picked this charity is because of her sister in law, Jen. Jen is confined to an electric scooter no longer being able to walk.

Montel himself has also been diagnosed with this disease. The Foundation contributes 100% of funds from individuals to research. Administrative funding is personally underwritten by Montel Williams and by corporate donors.

Kat's personal goal is to bring in $2000.oo. Although the Blogathon has yet to get underway she is already bringing in the donations. To date she has received $345.00. That is 17% of her goal.

So.... I am asking all of you to sponsor whatever you can and help Kat not only reach her goal but surpass it. You can do so by going to her site and clicking on the blogathon picture in her side bar. You will need to register and follow the instructions. I have made a pledge to sponsor her with a lump sum of $50.00. You can sponsor by lump sum or you can set a dollar figure to do it hourly.

So much to tell...

not enough time to tell it.. aagghh...
I will be posting more info tomorrow evening, but right now I am still drained.
There is a blogathon about to get started and one of my very best bloggers is entering to raise money for MS. So I will be blogging about that and what I intend to sponsor and perhaps hold a contest for it as well..

Stay tuned till tomorrow.

I hate being sick..

Two days off from work and I can't even enjoy it because I feel like crap. Normally Katie goes to camp while I am at work but she has been home with me and the teens.. Glad they looked out for her. Not to mention that daddy came home early yesterday because he wasn't feeling much better. I slept for almost 16 hours. I couldn't believe it.. Not including potty breaks. Every part of my body ached and my throat is so swollen.

Chris went to the doctors and was given antibiotics. I have been taking Silver and gargling salt water. I have similar symptoms as Chris does except that my throat is not sore or scratchy. I woke up this morning feeling better but not 100%. I am hoping tomorrow I will feel like my old self.

Mini Break

I took a break from my normal everyday activities to do some stuff that needed my attention. This weekend I spent most of my time cleaning the house thoroughly and getting the bed linens clean as well. I did it all with a migraine to boot. Not much has happened.

Chris has been on the computer for most of the weekend playing his new Dofus game. So I haven't had a chance to surf the net or my favorite bloggers. I will get up to date today maybe early evening. Chris is not feeling so well. He probably will be turning in early tonight and that will give me a chance to get on the PC.

Some days I just feel

spent. I don't know how to get out of this funk. I just have so much to do in any given day and never enough time to do it. If I do get up enough energy to tackle what needs to be done then I spend the next week dragging ass. I know if I could just lose the excess weight I have accumulated it would be so much easier to do all of it.

Brittany is adjusting well. Jeff and Britt went out and applied for jobs yesterday. Jeff is still looking for a job that will give him more hours so he can bring home more money. He said he may even keep his job and just work a second during the summer. Auntie Anne's has a scholarship program that he would like to maintain. Chris and Britt are going to our county vocational school today to talk with a guidance counselor about getting her in a GED program instead of enrolling her in a regular high school. Britt just doesn't do well in a regular school setting. She would also like to take courses in Cosmetology. We will see what we can do for her. Her mother just allowed her to get her learner's permit over spring break. She will be 18 in October and has yet to drive a car. So of course we will need to see about enrolling her in driver's ed. My head is spinning on all we need to get her set up for. Chris is enjoying it though. He missed having her with us.

In a few weeks Britt and Grandma will be flying to Pennsylvania to visit grandma's sister. This is a yearly tradition that they do together. By the time they get back we will know for sure if Britt will in fact be with us permanently. We are hoping so.

I Rock!

Humincat has tagged me with this honor! Thanks girl!

I doesn't take much to make me blush! haha...

Personally I think we all Rock!

So far so good...

We had to go buy a bunk bed with the futon bed on the bottom for Katie and Brittany to share. They are almost exactly 10 years a part. Katie was born October 19th and Brittany on October 27th. We are doing our best to make her feel welcomed and loved and for the most part I think she feels good about being with us.

Jeff is real happy that Brittany is here. He actually has someone close in age to talk to. Poor Katie though, she is really going to have a hard time with the fact that Britt will need some privacy every now and then. Actually mostly now than then! haha... So I am sure it will take some time for everyone to get used to an addition to the family. We normally would see her once a year. Even though Chris has visitation, we were never "allowed" to get her on weekends or holidays. Thanks to her mother. That's a whole different issue all together.

Not sure what we are doing tomorrow for the 4th but I am sure we will do something that doesn't involve being in a crowd of people. I hate crowds.

Hope everyone enjoys their holiday.

Here we go...

I always knew that this could be a possibility. Chris' 17 yr old daughter from a previous marriage is having problems with her mom. I would consider it typical teenage/young adult stage but her mom doesn't seem to want to deal with it and would rather pawn her off either to Chris or a psych ward. Chris' daughter has been diagnosed Bi-Polar and apparently she has not been taking her medications. I love her and I would love for her to stay with us permanently but I do have reservations as to how she will behave in our home. I think this is going to be a difficult ride for everyone involved. She isn't truthful(most teens aren't to an extent) and she has had problems with her behavior in the past so I am not exactly sure what to expect.

She used to live with her dad up until she was 11 when she decided she would be better off with her mom. Ever since then she has turned into this rebellious girl. I can't say for sure but I believe her mom had a lot to do with her behavior. Chris and his ex wife have never gotten along and I am positive that she has bad mouthed her father in front of her. It's not right but she does it.

If anyone has any knowledge on how to deal with a troubled teenager I would really appreciate any advice you could give me. I want to be supportive but definitely do no want to be an enabler or pushover.