Girls' Weekend

Ken left for the openers of Quail Season on Friday. He was excited about the trip and was hoping that they would be able to get some quail. Ken was even more excited that Addie was going to go, and we both hoped that she would be much better about being a Bird Dog this year. Addie will be two shortly, and from everything we have read and heard, this is the turning point for her.

While he packed, I tried desperately to keep busy. I've gotten used to him being gone lately, so I wasn't have the air completely sucked out of my lungs like I normally do when he's planning to be gone. However, it still wasn't pleasant knowing that he was going to be away from me. Again, I'm completely fine without Ken. It's not a problem - I can work, play, function and everything without him. I just don't like actually being away from him. 

I started the weekend right. I picked up the girls early from school and we went straight to Red Robin for supper. The jokes and laughter started immediately, and then I had to interrupt it with some seriousness. Their step-brother, Justin, is turning 18 on Friday and we were all invited to his mother's/grandmother's house for a celebratory BBQ. I died laughing knowing that the woman is flying back to California from Texas so that she can attend her Worker's Comp doctor appointment. There has got to be a special place in hell for her with the whole defrauding the W/C people like this, but whatever.....

The girls were happy to attend the party even with Sheryl there. They said that they love their brother and they totally want to celebrate his birthday like he's done for them on occasion. I told them that was very cool of them and showed how responsible they are. 

The next serious subject was letting them know that their youngest step-brother, Brian, has decided to spend the Winter Break with us this year. That was received with a ton of moans and groaning. Each of them wanted to know how bad things are in Texas if Brian is actually missing us and wanting to spend time with us. I told them that I didn't know, but he is Dad's son and a part of the family. That was met with a bunch of examples of how Brian has chosen to not be part of the family, he doesn't actually interact with anyone anymore, etc. Mandy and Taylor wanted to know if it was OK if they hid his Bible from him while he was here so he would actually pay attention to them and do things with us rather than, "sit on the couch reading his Bible and reminding us all of how much better he is than us." Wow! I thought it was just me that he treated that way, but apparently the girls don't have a high opinion either. 

Each of the girls promised that they would be on their best behavior come Winter Break, but they each warned me that if Brian acts like Brian, then they'll "let him have it." God help the child when he arrives. I sure hope he's grown up a bit in his short time in Texas. The girls said he's not a guest but a member of the family, so he needs to act like it. We'll see what happens. They also said that it "sucks, big time" that Ken is actually Brian's dad and they love and appreciate Ken more than his own son does. Pretty good thinking for young girls.

Jordan then asked if Sheryl was their step-mother. I went through how things work, and explained that Sheryl is Daddy's ex-wife; not their step-mother. I explained that only if their Daddy C remarries would they have a "step-mother." Mandy popped off with, "Oh my God! A woman would have to be so drunk to marry him!!"  Taylor piped in, "Yeah, how stupid is she who doesn't realize he's a loser!"

I did my best not to laugh or crack a smile at that. I did the right thing by reminding the girls that they were talking about their father and they were of age to still need to be respectful. Mandy reminded me that he does nothing for them and never did anything for me, so "whatever!" I reminded the girls that their Daddy C gave me them, and that was the best he would ever do, and that I thought it was pretty great. Luckily, that ended the conversation there. However, they did continue the ways in which a woman would have to be demented to date or marry their father all through the evening.

Mandy and Taylor were completely excited at the restaurant to have been given the adult menus. The burger that Mandy chose was bigger than her head, and thankfully, she took half of her meal home.

Jordan spent most of the night wanting one of the balloons and kept bugging me about it. I kept reminding her that she would have to ask when we left to take one home. She did, and she asked for one for her sister. When I asked for a picture of the girls, only Jordan would go in front of the replica of the Statue of Liberty. Haha!

When we got home, I was a great mom and showed the girls what happens when you suck the helium out of the balloons. They all loved taking a turn sounding like Mickey Mouse. I reminded them that they can't take too much helium or they'll ruin their brains. In the meantime, I rocked it as the "rad Mom."

We spent the rest of the evening watching Halloween movies: The Nightmare Before Christmas and Sleepy Hollow. I made sure that Sleepy Hollow was last and they accused me of trying to make them have bad dreams. Since they had stayed up late, they were asleep pretty fast.

Saturday, the girls enjoyed some more movies and then Taylor went to a friend's for a Halloween-themed birthday party.  Mandy and Jordan spent the evening with me, and as a bribe, I made cupcakes and promised that if they could behave, then they could frost them after we picked up Taylor.  We went to the store to get a couple items for the decorating, and Jordan asked me to take a picture of her with the Goldfish snack holder. 

Talk about a weird child. With her standing behind it, it looks like she's inside of the silly thing.

The "behavior modification" worked. Mandy and Jordan actually managed to get along and follow directions because they wanted to decorate the cupcakes. Once Taylor was home, the girls started icing the cupcakes and then I showed them how to take the black writing icing and a toothpick to make a spider web. They did a pretty good job!!

 Mama took care of the demo

 The girls were fine on their own

 Jordan was so excited, she grabbed my camera and took a picture of how well she was doing!

After they ate one of their creations and got cleaned up, I was going to let them watch a short show before bed. When I returned to the living room, I only found Taylor and Mandy out there. Apparently, it had been too much excitement for Jordan, and she went to bed - on her own! She was asleep when I went to check on her. Wow!!

Sunday morning was a lazy morning. French Toast and bacon was on the menu, and the girls loved it. Mandy and Jordan spent the entire day enjoying the cooler temperatures and played outside while Taylor and I spent the day watching chick flicks. I was stitching throughout the movies, and I loved having the time to do so. It was great not hearing the other two fighting for a change!

Ken got home in the early afternoon, and it was great to have supper with him again. Unfortunately, Mandy and Jordan apparently reached their limit in "listening" over the weekend, so getting ready for bed tonight was a chore. Oh well. It was a pretty great weekend, and I am glad that I will finally be able to get some sleep tonight!

Oh! Addie did really well on this trip. Both Rex and Ken said that if it hadn't been for her, they wouldn't have gotten half of the birds they did. Not only did she flush, but she retrieved pretty well including some double-blinds. Yay! I'm glad she worked out, and I'm sure she'll do even better the next time.