It doesn't have to be new to work well.

Weird things come to me as I'm cleaning. Remember last year when I went around and took pictures of weird warning labels after I realized that my broom had a customer support line stickered onto it?

Well, I was thinking about my beloved clock radio. She's old. There are way spiffier looking ones out on the market, but why replace her? She works well. She wakes us up every morning. My parents bought me this clock for Christmas when I was 12. This was actually a replacement to the original clock they purchased the week prior. That one convulsed and shook, not keeping time and I couldn't turn it off. We weren't wealthy, so when mom took the first one back and brought this one, she announced, "I paid $20.00 for this clock. Please take care of it." She'd be proud to know that 24 years later and 4 different moves, the clock is still humming along nicely.

That brings me to weird question of the day. What is the oldest functioning item that you have in your home that you could replace with something newer, but you don't? (I'm hoping for something that is used more often than twice every ten years, but I'll take any answer.)

Smiles in my day:
- Though I missed our walk Thursday morning so I could tend to some court proceedings with my brother, I walked to school to get K-. We walked with her friend B- and her mom part way back. It gave us some time to mull over the latest M- happenings and to reinforce what K- should do.
- My brother has a lovely lawyer that worked it so that my brother had an arraignment this AM, a meeting after that, a signature bond, a two hour visit to the local jail and he was out. To make it to court, we had to run, went to the wrong courthouse and had to run again-- through the snow, in a skirt and with loafers on-- to the police station where I kept setting the security beepers off with the metal pin on my coat. We made it at 9:01 AM, but thankfully, my brother was scheduled in and was okay. I ran so fast that I couldn't breathe once I got into the police station!

Have a great weekend!

I shall brag on my daughter.

It was report card day. K- earned the Kindergarten equivalent to straight A's! She improved the two checks that she had to pluses. (Is that how you spell that?!) She raised her reading score from 23/29 to 50/50. She counted to 100 by one's, five's and ten's. She knew all the other stuff that was asked of her and only missed 1/2 day because the teacher sent her home after a lunchtime vomiting incident.

We couldn't ask for more. So, we rewarded her with this. I scored it off the Target clearance rack for $8.25, which was a super deal!

:)!

Because I can't leave you hanging when a saga is going on.

First, my brother IS NOT in jail. He talked with the lawyer that he is now on the way to retain who advised him against turning himself in. He said that if he would do that, he would go straight to jail.

Why?

Because though it is a false temporary protection order, it is still in place. Though his ex called to have him pick his son up, as she knew he would, he still knew not to step foot on the property. He discussed his hindsight with me last night, but said that the fact that his son needed him clouded his judgment on not going on the property. Fair enough. When any of us see our children in distress, we run to them, right?

So, he has retained a lovely lawyer who will be handling the warrant, TPO and eventually his divorce and request for custody. In the meantime, I told my brother to dot all of his "i's" and to keep his nose clean. If he is getting busted for doing nothing, just imagine what trouble he would be in if he did something.

Argh.

On a related note, I finally slept last night. Actually, I think that my body gave me no choice. I fell asleep on the couch while watching the second half of the Biggest Loser. (For the record, the red team wife kills me. Wow.) Hubs kept poking me with his foot to see if I was awake so I could see the ending. I can also say that I can't quite figure out Miggy and Midgdalia. I hope good things for them, though.

On a completely unrelated note, I didn't quite notice that this AM was so cold before we left to walk to school. I just flashed on my weather bug to find that it is 19 F and a wind chill of 6 F. That would explain why my thighs are still cold and humming with numbness on their way to regaining circulation.

Smiles in my day:
- My brother taking care of his affairs and hopefully this will turn out okay.
- It's report card day!
- I had a good meeting with K-'s teacher yesterday morning. I had to go meet with her regarding the bullying, as it had proceeded to get worse. As I suspected, the child in question was doing it on the sly, where Mrs. H- wouldn't see and knowing that K- wouldn't tell. On Monday, K- was pushed into a cubbie (though it was possibly on accident) and elbowed. I talked with Mrs. H-, who was very upset about it. We talked with K- that being hit is not okay and that she needs to tell the teacher. Funny faces and yucky talk? Ignore it. Being hit, don't ignore it. M- is a special needs child that is mainstreamed into the class. I knew that and was trying to hold off, as I hoped that the situation would resolve itself. Mrs. H- gave it as no excuse, but a window to reasoning for some irrational behavior that he might exhibit. In learning this, she also said that K- and her friend P- tend to try to help M- because they see him struggling. She thinks that part of the reason why M- can be cranky with K-. I can certainly understand that. She said that K- is a very helpful child and could "probably run the show if I let her." (I laughed and said please don't.) She said that given M-'s personality, there are days that he comes in just unbearable. She also said that some days she is at a loss for a best option for him. Yesterday, K- reported that M- was "going to do something and I walked away." Good self preservation skill.

Must go pack my lunch, hang some laundry and make myself presentable for work.

Have a great day!

Tales from the Trenches: My brother Billy.

My poor brother. Truly, the boy couldn't catch a break if it was personally handed to him.

He had his kids this weekend. They had a great time. He returned them on Sunday, as per his order and was called later by his soon-to-be ex to come pick his son up because he was one hot mess and she couldn't get him to calm down. My nephew is 7 and has officially hit his breaking point. So, my brother went to pick his son up.

Again, my nephew is 7.

My nephew is ill.

My nephew lives with his mom in the hood.

So, my brother went on the property, picked his son up and all was well. His ex-wife calls, demands that he return his son and he said no. He said that my nephew didn't want to return.

My brother went to the courts and filed divorce papers today. He took his son to his doctor's appointment. On their way out, my mom said that they were all laughing until they looked up and realized that my brother's ex, her boyfriend and her mother were out yelling at them from her boyfriend's car. Then, police cars come into the parking lot and block my mother's vehicle in.

They were coming to take my brother in handcuffs.

What?

His ex went to the police station of the city where the doctor's office is at and told them that my brother kidnapped his own child.

Again, what?!

So, they ran records on everyone and found that her boyfriend had a warrant. He was hauled off in cuffs. As far as my nephew is concerned, the police (against what they wanted to do, as the one walked away in tears) had to return my nephew to his mother.

This evening, my brother called to have me look the record up of his ex's boyfriend. I couldn't find it, but was trying to cross reference for his name spelling when I ran across a charge that my brother's ex filed on him today.

My brother has a warrant out for his arrest because he stepped on the property to pick his sick 7 year old son up and that put him in violation of her temporary restraining order that she falsely filed against my brother this past fall.

My brother will probably go to jail tomorrow. He is going to turn himself in tomorrow at 7:30 AM.

Please pray for my brother Billy. He is just trying to do right by his kids. He is clean and trying to secure a job.

He is really trying.

As for me, my stomach is burning and the zantac is not working. Hopefully, my worry is not burning the stomach lining out. Perhaps it is too much pop and the garlic bread that I consumed. Hopefully . . .

Smiles suspended in request for prayer.

38.

Happy birthday, Hubs! Wii hope you have a great day! :)