the most random of random - my life in a nutshell these days

that's the exact word to describe what my life is like these days...

RANDOM

first, let me get the crappy stuff out...

currently, i'm dealing with a KILLER sinus/head cold thing - likely brought on from allergies (i get one of these every time the ragweed is bad), or by stress

why stress?

well, curtis part ways with his full-time job last friday - yep, that's right - he no longer works there....there has been a lot of crappy crap (my fav word for this post, apparently) going on there for the last couple of months.....he was going on 4 yrs with the company & had seniority over everyone in his entire dept (even both his 2 bosses).....under the last supervisor, he was offered the assistant supervisory position & turned it down (the money offered wasn't worth the headache that came with it).....under the new management - he's gotten nothing but picked on & taken advantage of.....reprimanded for things that everyone does, but no one else hears about it.....and being scheduled for way more weekends & closing shifts than those with less time under their belt.....there's a lot more petty stuff, but i won't go into it here.....curtis isn't one to play the "race card", but it really did start to feel like discrimination to him.....he'd started looking for other jobs within the last couple weeks & actually has had a few positive responses, but he wasn't going to leave the mountain, until he had secured something somewhere else.....but friday was the day that broke the camel's back & so, here we are

long story short - because my hard working man always has 2 or 3 jobs at one time, he's simply went full-time at one of his part-time jobs immediately (on monday).....that is, until he finds a better suited full-time gig.....please pray for us as curtis finds the job best suited for him

another stress that isn't really a stress is our (planned) upcoming beach weekend.....my aunt is vacationing in Hatteras for a week, beginning tomorrow.....months & months back (when she planned the trip for her & her 3 kids), she asked if curtis, the kids & i would come down for a long weekend, while they were there......we were thrilled & started planning - asking off from work, etc....well, later we realized that we'd literally be driving back the day before school starts - and now with curtis' job situation, we're not so sure we should splurge & take another beach trip.....i talked to my aunt on tuesday & she was totally understanding - thx Tracy! (but i literally stressed over the decision to go or not for days!) we've canceled the trip.....luckily, the kids haven't mentioned it for weeks - with everything else going on, and the KD trip we just made - i'm not sure they even remember that we had planned to go again.....and hey, i don't have any cakes scheduled this weekend since we were planning to b out of town - another laid back weekend for the skates family - whoo hoo! ;0)

and another HUGE stress/worry has been this whole house situation......we still haven't heard anything from our neighbor about whether or not he's going to buy the house - and we're still not sure about how much of an "extension" our landlord got on the foreclosure (i guess maybe i can get some answers when the 1st of the month comes around & he wants rent!)

i'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason & that regardless of what we think should happen, God gives us only what we can handle, when we can handle it

there's this empty house beside our's......the old renters moved out before last christmas & the landlord has been doing work to the house here & there, since then.....finally, about 2 months ago, i caught him when he was there working......he showed me the house (curtis & the kids were inside our house - i had just gotten home from work) & told me what the rent would probably be......explained that his mother had passed away, so he was just taking his time getting it ready to rent again......i told him i was VERY interested & that we were just looking for a house to rent (tired of living above/below someone, in an apartment) - that of course, we wanted to stay in the same area with our kids in school, etc......and in discussion, we figured out that he knows my parents (bonus points!)......so he took my number & said he'd call when they were getting close to renting it again

tuesday night, i got a phone call from the landlord.....he figured we had already found something else & had moved on.....i explained how actually, his call was at the perfect time - told him all about the possible foreclosure & how interested we still are......we arranged to meet last evening so that curtis could see the house & we could all talk more......our whole fam walked thru the house last night & we agreed that we indeed want to move there.....we're worried that we'll have new owners come in (where we're at now) & our rent will get jacked up sky high (it's currently VERY cheap for the size place we have) or they'll give us 30 days to move out (we live month to month - no lease).....plus, even tho it's HUGE - the size makes it that much harder to heat/cool & it's just an old house with it's fair share of issues

so, we're supposed to hear back from the new landlord next week with the "official" word & to arrange meeting to give them our deposit......i'll have to give my current landlord 30 days notice, so we'll have a move in date of October 1st......the BEST part is that since we're only moving next door, we don't need a moving truck! and the new landlord has agreed to let us slowing start moving stuff through September! how cool is that? we already know our neighbors on both sides, the kids won't have to adjust to a new neighborhood.....perfect in my opinion! we are downsizing in space overall, but the one room that is bigger is the kitchen! yay for mama, the cake decorator! ~lol~ and now, we'll be renting a house, not an apartment - whoo hoo!

see? right over the fence
(i'm actually standing where my mini-van is parked in our current driveway, taking this pic)

i'll keep u posted - but please also keep us in your prayers as we make our "big move" - we've accumulated a lot of stuff in the almost 4 years we've lived in our current place - and we'll b having one big yard sale come mid september! :0)

another really crappy thing - the boys' birthdays have come & gone.....and we still haven't seen them! (my post in june about this) corey turned 16 on the 16th - and curtis jr. turned 17 on the 19th.....it was weird, i hadn't said anything to the 3 younger kids about the boys' bdays, knowing they'd ask about a cake/party/etc.....and i knew we'd be lucky if we just got to speak to them......but gabby woke up saturday morning (corey's bday) & said she had a dream that they came to play at our house......she asked again, why they weren't coming around any more.....i did my best to explain it to her without putting blame on the boys, their mother, anyone......and of course, gabby blamed curtis......she asked daddy why he didn't just make the boys come see us ~tearing up just thinking about this~ she & i ended up having a heart to heart - both of us crying & talking about how it wasn't fair & it didn't make sense, but that all we could do was pray for the boys & continue to call & ask for them to come around.....i hate that she's old enough & smart enough to feel this.....corinn is still young & innocent enough, the she just doesn't think much of it.....and jaden, well he asks - but a simple answer/excuse suffices for him (the boys are busy working or they're living far away, etc.)

this time, instead of me or curtis (sr) calling, i let the kids call......and it worked! corey came to the phone, the kids sang to him & each got to speak to him for a little bit - not really knowing what to say, but in all smiles at just hearing his voice! jaden even laughed and said "corey, when did u grow up?!" cause his voice has changed! ;0) it's really been that long! corey thanked them & said his goodbyes as normal....i jumped on the phone at the end & gave him my bday wishes & love.....i told him how much the kids (especially gabby) were missing them & asked if we could just come pick them up for an hour or so & go to the park to play (keeping it neutral).....he said they were up in northern va, not down here.....he didn't explain - living? visiting? but there was no drama, and i was thankful for that!

tuesday night, we called curtis jr. to do the same for his birthday...."the ex" said he was working, but would tell him that we called.....we didn't hear back :0(

again, i've turned this over to God.....we've let the boys know (again) that our door is always open - that we're not entirely sure why they're acting this way, but we're willing to forgive, forget & start over.....the ball is in their court.....but gosh, we miss them!


now, for the good stuff! :0)

tuesday eve, i had the opportunity to officially meet a fellow blogger! LAA & family is a friend i've made through blogging - her son Samuel is autistic & i really enjoy reading her blog - Mom Embracing Autism - Samuel's older brother, Edward, is celebrating his 11th birthday today & Laurie asked me to make his cake.....because, as it turns out - they only live about an hour away from me! we met up halfway on tuesday eve, & got to chat for a few minutes in the parking lot of McDonald's (while my girls showed their true colors - i had given them ice cream cones, right before Laurie arrived - so they were all hopped up on sugar! ~lol~)

wow, guess i need to teach them to sit like ladies, when on curbs! ~lol~

Edward races go carts & loves formula 1 racing.....and he helped design his cake, by drawing a sketch that his mom emailed to me (love that!) Happy Birthday Edward - i hope you enjoy your cake! :0)


speaking of cake, my brother cracked me up this week! he was home for the summer, and just recently went back to VCU to start the semester.....even tho we discussed my profile in Rocktown Weekly while he was here, he just now got my email about it when he got back to school & checked that email account.....here's the reply i got from him:

"sorry i'm so late with this response - but, this is awesome! i bet it got a lot more people tryin to give you business, even though you don't need it! maybe one day i'll get to go into business with you- i'll be like geof"

he's so funny! if u watch ace of cakes & if u know my brother, joe - then u can totally see him in the geof role! ~lol~ plus, joe is a really talented artist - i could sooooo use his help & expertise!!! ;0)

then yesterday, corinn had her pre-k physical & immunizations (after mama checked & double checked on the necessity of them & made sure that they had not one ounce of toxins in them!).....she did so well! she didn't even tear up for the finger prick! she did scream/cry for the shots, but who could blame her?! shots hurt, dang it! miss skinny rinny falls in the 90th percentile for height & only the 50th for weight - that bugger!

u know how they have u do all these developmental tests with ur kids while u're waiting? asking them questions like "what is a chair used for?" & "point to the picture of the animal that barks"....they have to draw a person & u count to see if they've included 6 body parts.....you have them jump on one foot to see if they can hold their balance for 8 seconds, etc (my girls always score way high on these).....well, here's corinn proving that she can do the 8 seconds & then some - probably about 30 seconds & all while doing laps around the room in her undies! ~lol~

the physical led into orientation last night.....all 3 kiddos got to meet their teachers - well, jaden is the only one with a "new" teacher this year - gabby is starting kindergarten with the teacher jaden had for his 2nd round of kindergarten & corinn got the same pre-k teacher that gabby had last year! it's nice that i'm getting to know more teachers, assistants & personnel at the kids' school as they get older....almost everyone already knows my kiddos & corinn acted like walking around the school last night was 2nd nature! she's going to have NO PROBLEM on her first day (next thursday - the other 2 start on tuesday)! we took a ride on the bus, since that will be a new experience for corinn - luckily, her big sis will be able to help her out & ensure that she's on the right bus & getting off at the right stop (miss stephanie's house) in the afternoons (i drop them all off in the mornings)

skipping down the hill, while waiting for the next bus ride around the neighborhood

corinn's 1st bus ride! :0)

(sorry, these 2 were taken with my cell)

and btw - i just went & spent $80 on school supplies - and that's only the 3 required lists!!! yay for wally world & their super low prices, but dang!

not enough randomness for ya? how bout some more?! ~lol~

i told u that jaden wasn't the only artist in the house...

i love gabby's use of different mediums on this one
markers AND stickers - what a cutie!

this is corinn's baby dragon - he's crying, can't u tell?
ok, had to include one more of jaden's - this is him, with his tongue out, driving his dragon racecar! (i have no clue y his tongue is out!) ~lol~

ok, that's enough for now.....thx for reading the longest blog post in history!

i know that this day too, shall pass & that God has big plans for us.....i get my worrisome nature from my dad - i over analyze & worry way more than necessary! God is teaching me to "let go & let God" - but i'm a slow learner, i guess ~teehee~ thx for ur thoughts & prayers guys!

xoxoxox