First Day-Venture of the Year!

Since we couldn't go yesterday, we ended up going today ... to Port Gamble and Point No Point.  No regrets, but probably not the best idea considering out by the water things are colder, and windy ....

Well, today was COOOOOOLDER and WINDY and whipped right into the fibers of every layer you had on....  but the water was pretty, and we managed to have some fun....

Nana and Papa had an appt and we ended up swinging by to pick up Miss El.  She was super excited ... she misses us a lot, she has lived with us for most of her life and so we represent home...  so she's always asking to go home with us.  It breaks my heart when I have to tell her no (because there is a hard and heavy CPS case going on right now with her parents, not with us - just want to make that clear.  Currently my Mom & Step-Dad have custody of her.  Because of things that have happened, she's only allowed to be at my Mom & Step-Dad's to sleep and most of the time.)

So anyway ....

It was Popi (DB), Nonna (me), Cal & Tina, and Elly.   This was supposed to be our big first outing of the year as a family, but Noah hasn't been feeling well at all, and Kaedyn was up ALL NIGHT (thank you insomnia) and Nathan was - I think, at best - up and down all night....

So we decided to let them all stay home to sleep.  Noah knew ...  the boys, not so much.   Kaedyn was ANGRY when he woke up and found out we left without him.  I was all - you didn't fall asleep until 6 AM!!

But it was.... what it was.  We had fun ... and for the full pictures, go check out our Adventures Blog, which is still a huge work in progress, but it's progressing... lol....

PORT GAMBLE IN WINTER

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the day .....

These are the mountains (Olympic Mountains) as we were going out of town ....

My favorite place in Port Gambvle....   the Walker-Ames House... 

Inside the General Store, the second floor is a bit of a show-and-tell area with various neat things...  this is Elly looking down to the first floor (the store area) and watching people.  To me, she looks just .... older in this picture.  She looks like she's five or something.... ugh....

I had a Chewbaca sighting!!!!

Elly outside watching the water.... 

I adore this photo of her (below)

Tina and I....

We (or at least I) considered not going out to Point No Point because of how bone chilling the wind was. But I'm glad we did ....  I'm always glad ... LOL...

You can also read and see more on my Adventures Blog ....

POINT NO POINT IN WINTER

Cal & Tina

Point No Point

A tired Elly .... lol... 

And then to close off the night, there was of course the Super Blood Wolf Moon Lunar Eclipse... 

You can also read and see more on my Adventures Blog ....

SUPER BLOOD WOLF MOON LUNAR ECLIPSE

DB ... LOL...  he's such a ...  I love him... LOL... 

Fri-YAY

Today I ended up taking Tina up to the court house ....  and then we ended up doing some Pokemon Go Spinner seeking, Tina started a (new) account and we were trying to get her into the levels ...

We ended up stopping at the Silverdale Waterfront briefly and decided to take a few photos ....  this is actually the first time I actually stopped here.

This is my buddy Nico .... he didn't talk much though....

Calahan and Tina ....

Later we ended up stopping at another of those spots in town that a lot of people don't know about, and I always wanted to take "couple" pictures in front of this mural ...

After, they decided to vape.  The true story is this....  Calahan and Tina started blowing their vape clouds into each other's faces, however Tina smoked Cal out...   Pic #3 (bottom left) he finlly got some cloud on her...

What it looks like.......   Tina is blowing her cloud into Cal's face, and Cal is sucking up the cloud...

Then we found out our back tire was low .....  not cool Universe, not cool.....

Then there are pretty kitties.....

That's pretty much the day ....

Just some Chatter....

First off ....  I have to share this photo of today....  Nathan insisted that I take a picture of him with his Pokemon blanket in his mouth.......  yes.......  "TAKE A PICTURE" didn't understand him for awhile....  then I figured it out ....

But don't worry Nate....  I gottcha ....  I got your picture of your Pokemon blanket in your mouth.... 

ANYWAY ...... 

Tina and I are talking a lot - getting to know each other and all this fun stuff....  been talking about the boys and their births and just the boys overall ....  she's missing her daughter horribly but .... she'll get through it because her daughter is probably in the safest place she can be right now given her ex and his stupid threats.... 

But it's funny too - because of course things  happened quickly between Cal and Tina but I really really really like her....  because...

She's just like me!!

It's crazy!  We have a lot in common but ya know, not everything of course... 

Calahan says .... "Well mom, you know that they say you marry a woman like your mother" LOL

I tell him I'm sorry, and that I hope he survives.... 

It's funny though.   She's sassy, she's sarcastic ... and she has lived through some stuff that sucks and that is what builds character ....

.... we both have some character...  that's for sure. 

But damn if I'm not falling in love with her too .... I'm glad Cal found her.  I can only hope that she's "the one" because I like her .... 

.......... may I never ever dislike her in any big ways...  I'm sure we'll have a moment or two because it's bogus to think we won't....  when you love someone, you fight with them ....

........ which should have been my first clue that my first marriage was shit.... because besides a few moments where I got so pissed at him, or when he was verbally beating me down .... we never fought. 

Anyway ....  nothing interesting happened today.  Not.a.damn.thing. 

So that's all ya get!!

Today feels like......

(this went up on FB today .... because Cal was being compared to someone manipulative, mentally and emotionally abusive.)

In our lives we choose to be supportive and loving.

Calahan watched me come out of an abusive situation and in the end standing up for myself and standing strong against it. I was no longer going to be manipulated and broken down by words. I taught my kids to stand up for what and who they believe in and because they have brothers who have medical needs and "typical" kids don't always treat them like kids who are just like them. You feel like someone is bullied, you stand up for that person. I mean even Cal got bullied as a child, badly, at his schools and it's good to see him when he stands up for what he believes in or someone who he feels is being mistreated. He is very protective of those he loves. I also raised him to be a good man. He is very kind hearted and loving, and he's still young and still learning and we might get annoyed with his lack of focus sometimes, lol, he's forgetful on those chores.... but he tries hard, and he usually means well. I've taught him to be respectful and sometimes respectful flies out the window, just like with anyone.

Cal has had a few girlfriends. There are the early girls who lasted a few months ... the stolen kisses in the alleys. We move to WA and he has a girlfriend for a short time and then he met his high school sweetheart. They dated for 5 years and, he had asked her to marry him at her graduation, he had even gotten her dad's permission to ask her. It was sweet. We worried though, because she had a very over protective family and they didn't get to see each other often. And slowly things began to change and things ended. Then there was ..... she who shant be named .... and her verbally and mental abuse of Cal, even some physical abuse... but it's like... I saw it and I got so mad, she was cheating on him and I had proof and he still believed her.... and I got so frustrated until I stepped back and looked at him and realized, I could get mad all I wanted and it wasn't going to change a thing. So I stepped back and looked at the situation ... and realized the only thing I was doing .... was losing my son and allowing her to win. So I started to remember he's an adult and he has the right to make his own decisions and his own mistakes. So I focused on supporting him. We'd talk about the various issues, but I tried not to get mad or let my anger about it show. I expressed my concerns and had to allow him to make his own choices.

What my son is NOT .... is abusive. What he is NOT is controlling. NOR is he comparable to someone who is.

So We're Getting Married ....

So .......  my son is getting married!!  Not tomorrow ... or today ...  sometime, down the road...  we don't know yet, that's part of this whole thing.

WHERE do we begin?

Of course I never got the wedding I wanted, so I gotta reign myself back and remember - this is NOT my wedding, this is NOT my day .....

............ damn court house weddings. .

So since we need to keep this on the cheap side, we'll have to get and do things s.l.o.w.l.y.

So there are some things that need to be at least thought about - if not decided on.

1: Bride & Groom.......... oh, shooooooo - nevermind, we know that.

That would be Calahan and Tina Marie ....   I can't pretend that I'm not actually a wee-bit (alright more than a wee-bit) excited ... even in the short time they've been together, I have to say that I see a lot of love, respect, and compassion for each other....  and I do like what I see.

2: Theme?  Well - we actually know that too.  At his moment, it's Dragon/Fairies/Fantasy....  now get that weird look off your face and look at this......

....... you cannot tell me that's not wickedly amazing... 

3: Season ......   Tina already told me she's thinking Spring/Summer

4: Date........  JULY 31, 2020  <--- is what they are shooting for at the moment

5: Colors ......   She likes red, he likes green ....... that's screams CHRISTMAS!!!   LOL ...  but again,  Unknown ....  TBD ... 

6:  Where?  Do you want it Inside or Outside?  Inside where?  Outside where?  Church, Barn, Beach, Forrest, Park, near the Water .....  what is the vision ....

7:  Who do you want in the wedding party?  You need two witnesses, one for each of you - who will it be?

8: Who do you want at the wedding?  Is the wedding and the reception going to be separate?  Different days?  Who do you want at the wedding?  Who do you want at the reception?

9: What all do you want to do at your reception?  Do you want to just be relaxed and hang out?  Do you want to do cake, dinner, dancing, etc and so on?   If it's going to be separate from the wedding then where do you want that?   Back to the indoor, outdoor?  Etc and so on ...

10:  Do you want a dress?  Is he going to wear a suit or a tux?

I think that's a pretty good list to look at so far!  <3

Take a deep breath........ you are getting married!  Squeal!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALAHAN!!!!

Twenty-three years ago today I labored 13 hours to squeeze this slimy alien out of my body. He came out screaming and the doctor, who was as horrified as I was at this tiny little.... boy thing. It took a nano-second for me to grab that screaming little human thing and fall instantly in love. I wasn't mad about the 13 hours of horrible pain and contractions and all the vomiting and the .....everything .... he put me through. He was my whole world, my whole life... and he made me the one thing I always wanted to be, and that was a mom. <3             He was 8lbs 7oz of wonder. He rarely cried as a newborn, unless he was hungry or I laid him in his cradle (but his crib was fine) .... He was always wide eyed and taking everything in. Always curious. He wasn't always the easiest child. After the Leukemia scare, the bone marrow testing and everything with that, he changed. The turned from this super smart little boy and regressed .. and I thought it was due to being traumatized by the scary medical tests he had to go through. The next few years would be rough. But we stumbled our way through it and by the age of 5, he was somewhat back to his normal .... then he became a big brother. I'm sure it was "normal" to him - everything that happened with Noah... but it wasn't, yet it was all Calahan knew. As the years have come and gone Calahan has grown into an amazing young man. He has this huge heart so full and capable of love. He is loyal to a fault. He has such compassion for animals, and people - especially if it's someone who's seen as being at a disadvantage or going through something tough - he is always willing to be a support or a shoulder. He has such a kind heart. Cal does have his faults, of course, like his quick temper. LOL ... and I know that he really wants someone to call his own. With Tina coming into his life, he has found this happiness I have never seen in him before.

So today, I wish my amazing son a very very happy 23rd birthday (even though it's MY birthday, cuz I was the one giving birth!) ... and I hope that this next year turns out to be so amazing for you. <3 <3 I love you baby boy.

Today we had Beef Stroganoff (asked for by the birthday boy) and cake ....

Hi World..... let me introduce Tina ...... Calahan's new and bestest main squeeze <3

Throwing rocks and making plops........

Vaping........  no, there is no nicotine in it