Splish Splash

Ghetto Bike

It was a sad afternoon on Heatherridge Street. Once again thieves had struck and took this beautiful bike from our family. "E" was so close to tears, (not really it just adds emotion) her Ghetto bike had been removed from our home. Of course Ghetto bikes movement was aided by a neighborhood child. This lesson has been taught in our home several times. First it was "A"'s bike when she was in preschool. Her fearless Mama took it back from the neighborhood child as they rode by on Heatherridge a couple days later. Lesson 2: both "A" and "E"'s bikes and a scooter. We immediately searched the neighborhood only to recover "E"s bike but alas the scooter and "A"s went to their new home. Lesson 3: the most painful yet. We actually let "A" use her birthday money with some help from Mom and Dad for her new bike. On the day of it's departure we again scoured the neighborhood. I must admit I have never been on some of the same roads again, it was a bit nerve racking. I decided that no bike would ever be worth that. This spring we had a day where two bikes in our home threw their frames under moving vehicles, some garage sales had to be found with great bike deals. A bike donation was also made to our home. Lloyd the handy man he is quickly made two broken bikes into one. Thus Ghetto bike was welcomed into our home. Four kids able to ride bikes and four bikes who could ask for more. This brings us to today, with Ghetto bikes unfortunate departure. Wait, this time Pa took off on his gallant wheels. Once again the sun shone on "E" as Pa return home with Ghetto bike in hand. Welcome home Ghetto bike, may you never leave our humble abode again.

Parenting

I have always known almost EVERYONE has an opinion on how to be a parent.
(Personal favorite is when they don't have kids or only have one and they give advice on how to be a parent of five and when you don't immediately take their advice they look shocked.)
So, now we come to the tricky part of having several children.
BIG PARTY tonight for the family (maybe not so big but a party still.)
"E" has done all of her work plus some more.
The other kiddos have come through with a million excuses why they
can't possibly clean.
I don't want to pay a babysitter to listen to my other kids whine.
I want to go to the PARTY and I want Lloyd to go too!!

Ideally "E" would get to go to the PARTY!!
Lloyd and I would go with "N" too.
"N" is still in the too young to have jobs category.

Do I cave and let everyone go???
or
Do I stick to my guns and no one goes?

p.s. Does anyone know how to get rid of sunscreen smell? "J" cleaned my mirrors with it today.

Clean, Clean, Clean

It all started Tuesday... what a good day it was.
I made detailed lists of how to clean each room in our house.
Handy that I have 4 kids of cleaning age and 4 rooms in our home to be cleaned.
"A", "E", "J" and "R" all rocked the world while cleaning.
Today I received a letter from "A" saying she needed help cleaning the family room.
She also wrote that tomorrow she will not clean the kitchen and to get
someone else to do it!!
Don't we all want someone else to do it.. sigh.....
Life is hard when you have to clean your bedroom and one additional room.
Just wait until I get my mansion in Heaven
Can I hire a housekeeper??? Do they complain??

I have decided!!

I have decided experiences in life are like a roller coaster ride.
Sometimes you are up....
Sometimes you are down...
There are lots of twists and turns....
It feels like times stops when you are on the ride....
When you get off it seems like it went too fast...
Sometimes you are queasy when you get off...
Sometimes you run to get right back in line...
Yep... Life is like a roller coaster
Keep your arms and legs inside at all times!!
ENJOY THE RIDE

Back in Michigan

It's a good day when the family is together again.
I am loving being back with Lloyd and for now
I love my little house and especially my bed.
It was nice to see family and a few friends.
I am so sorry we didn't get to meet up with more of our friends
back west, it feels like the last month flew by.
It is nice to be home.
Pictures will follow!!!

Legal update....
Lloyd had his first visit with the probation officer.

Michigan legislature passed a law in April and minimum
probation is 1 year. So, we are in Michigan until at least
June 24th of next year.
There is little planning ahead on things due to lack of
information on how a felony will affect our lives.
It is frustrating but things will work out.
For now I need to find schools for the kids to go to in September
.
For a brief moment I thought about homeschooling but Lloyd said I'm not allowed to! :)

Tell me what good.....

I have had many people tell me to move on and not give Deputy Bourdeau any more of my time. We are out of her hands and the prosecutors hands.
If you belive this STOP READING!!
Yet, we get to live with the mess daily.
So, to Deputy Bourdeau and the Prosecutor I say
TELL ME WHAT GOOD.....
tell me what good you thought you were doing by prosecuting this case
Did you get a hard criminal off the streets?
Did you save society from a threatening force that was going to cause them imminent harm?
Did you save our family from anything?
Did you use the law to better someone or thing in any way shape or form?
Did you feel better at the end of the night?
Did you make the "abandoned children" at the park feel safe and comforted?
Did you listen to what happened?
Do you even care?
Did you even know what the results for this family would be from your choice?
I can't speak for everyone involved because I don't know how they feel.
I can speak for me....
I am angry and bitter.
Everything that happened at the park was horrific.
To live with that memory would have been challenging.
Yet, apparently our family didn't suffer enough that day.
I needed help from others to break my belief that
trying to do the best you can in life
isn't enough!
Why should I ever trust anyone when I feel like someone whose job it is to restore trust was so worried about covering their own ass they didn't care who or what they destroyed in the process.
Why should I try and contribute to society when it feels like society will spit in your face every time they get a chance?
Why should I care, when it feels like so many others don't?
Why try?
Has a member of the legislature ever felt the consequences of the laws they write?
I have learned the importance of conjunctions: the difference between or & and is a year of Hell.
I thought those involved in the legal system cared about people. I now I feel like they are out for a win and to prosecute any case they can win by technicality because it looks good on a resume.
I have learned to hate...
I always felt that word was too strong to ever be used but now I truly hate.
I will never say Lloyd and I didn't make mistakes that day.
I will also never say that others didn't make mistakes either.... in what way have they accepted consequences for their actions?
I mourn the loss of thinking people want to help strangers out not fry them up at any given chance.
I regret that when I see someone in need I hesitate to offer because someone may interpret my actions different than I intend.
So much loss...
again I say
TELL ME WHAT GOOD!!
Congrats Mr. Prosecutor Brian Mackie!! Congrats Deputy Katrina Bourdeau!!
I hope this was what you wanted!!