Molly's Musings-- getting bigger

Hi! It's Molly again.

I still sleep a lot.

I still like to give kisses.

The Soft Lady still loves me.

It only looks like she's choking me, really. Also, The Soft Lady needs to touch up her roots.

But it seems that I am growing at an alarming rate. Mama Dog and I can no longer fit on the same bed together.

Mama Dog is kind of a push over. She doesn't seem to realize that she's still bigger than I am and can still make me get off the bed if she wants to.

This was a pretty good week. No one took me to the vet  and no one gave me a bath, so there's not a lot to complain about.

I only peed in the house once this week, which I think is an amazing accomplishment, but The Soft Lady was still pretty upset. There is this amazing place called UPSTAIRS, which I have not been allowed to venture into yet, but it must be wonderful, because everyone goes up there at night and leaves me down in my crate. Even the STINKIN' CATS are allowed up there, but I've tried to go UPSTAIRS three times now and I've been tossed outside each time. Why Mama Dog doesn't even try to go UPSTAIRS is beyond me.

Hope you all had a great week! See you again soon!

Weekend Update-- Stop Breathing so Loud

Ow. Please don't read so loud. I have a BIT of a headache. Too much fun over the weekend, I guess!

Friday was completely uneventful. I went to work, The Agent went to work, the children went to their last day of camp. They came home with these Jesus tomb gardens:

I thought they were super cute. They planted grass seeds in the dirt, so in theory, there will be grass growing over the tomb and it will be sweet and pretty. But we'll see. We don't have a whole lot of green thumbs in this family.

We had take out chicken for dinner and then watched The Lego Movie, while this guy slept on my lap:

How could such a cute little boy get into so much trouble?

Saturday morning was a beautiful day for some baseball! This is T-Ball, so the kids rotate positions so they can try them all. BK played left field, catcher, and shortstop for this game. Here he is in his catcher gear:

And here he is on short stop:

We had a crab feed to go to at night, so the kids got to watch movies with the babysitter all night while The Agent and I ate crab and then danced the night away. I had a few too many drinks, but look at what we came home with:

I'm not sure what we're going to do with ANOTHER grill, but it's kinda cool that it's on wheels. Maybe can take it camping or something.

On Sunday.... nothing happened. I got up at 5:30, but I really didn't feel able to function until about noon. The Agent was smoking a pork butt and couldn't leave the house all day, but I took the kids with me grocery shopping, and then the children spent the rest of the afternoon outside, enjoying their last before going back to school, and I silently begged the birds not to chirp so loud. 

It is Sunday afternoon as I write this, so the season finale of Walking Dead hasn't started yet, but I will for sure be watching! Rumors are that a major character is going to die tonight-- who will it be? Not Rick, Not Daryl.... I can't imagine Carol or Michonne or really any of the women going. Maybe Glenn? But that would be so sad for Maggie-- she's already lost her dad and then her sister, and then they're going to kill off her husband, too? Maybe Carl? I just don't know! It will be Monday by the time you read this-- leave me a comment to let me know so sad (or happy!) you were over the finale! 

 

No hugs or kisses allowed

Hello, my friends! I'm back with an update. If you don't know the beginning of the story, catch up here.

So, we decided that it would be best for The Agent to go to camp personally and talk to the director. If it went well, great. If not, I could make arrangements to stay home with the kids during the second week of Spring Break, and I could find another camp to take them to during the summer. No worries.

The Agent went to the church on Friday asked to speak to the director. She was still there, and The Agent asked for some time to speak with her privately. She escorted The Agent into her office and said she was happy to speak with him.

"I want you to know that we've been very happy with the church and the camp last summer and this spring," The Agent began. "The children are having fun, making friends, and learning valuable lessons. That being said, it has been brought to my attention that one of your counselors is hugging and kissing my daughter."

The director nodded sadly. "That has been brought to my attention as well."

(this means that either someone else saw him doing it with Bug, or someone saw him doing it with someone else.)

"We have taught our children that these are signs of affection that we only show to our most loved ones," The Agent continued. "Other than close family, we have a strict 'hands off' rule."

"That is our policy as well," the director agreed.

It turns out that Coach Dwayne was a volunteer, not even a paid employee. He was told that his help was no longer needed, and he was asked not to return. The director stressed to The Agent that the safety of the children was their top priority, and she hoped that both Bug and BK would return to the camp next week, but she understood if we wanted a refund.

The assured her that we would be back the next week, and during the summer, too. "My wife said she believed the hug and kiss were in innocence, and we are not accusing anyone of anything. We just want to make sure our children are safe."

When Bug went to camp on Monday, she didn't mention anything about Dwayne, but when I took the kids in the next day, The first thing she asked the director was, "Why wasn't Coach Dwayne here yesterday?"

The director looked at me as she answered. "Coach Dwayne was a volunteer, he was helping out. We don't need his help anymore, so he's not coming back."

"Oh," Bug said thoughtfully. "So, he's never coming back?"

The Director was still looking right at me. "He's never coming back." She was saying this more to me than to Bug.

Damn straight he's not.

So, it all turned out ok.... although, the day after this happened, someone told me I overreacted, so I was filled with guilt. It likely was all in innocence, but how is one to know?

It's just best if everyone keeps their hands off my children.

Got Snacks?

Remember the days when you could snack on whatever you wanted and still be the skinny kid? Yeah, me neither. But I did love my snacks! Here are my favorites, in no particular order: 

* Clearly Canadian

Does a drink count as a snack? Don't know, don't care. It was a red letter day when my mother replaced my normal Capri Sun with a delicious Clearly Canadian. Like soda, but water. Sweet! 

* Pringles

I love love LOVE Pringles. Loved them then, love them now. But I'll pass on those crazy flavors. It's super salty or nothing. 

* Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans

I was in high school when I discovered choc covered espresso beans. I wasn't drinking coffee yet, but this was the first step into my caffeine addiction. Well, if I'm really being honest, my addiction started way before that, when I would come home from school and actually start crying if there wasn't a Pepsi in the refrigerator waiting for me. It's why my children don't drink soda now. Well, that and it's bad for them.


* Fig Newtons

Fruit in a cookie never tasted so good. 

* Hostess Fruit Pies

This was a very rare treat. Not pictured is my very favorite flavor, the Boysenberry. Or maybe it was Mixed Berry. Or maybe just Berry. Whatever. 

* Doughnut Holes 

Quick Story: There was a flower shop next door to a grocery store near our house. My best friend and I would ride our bikes to the flower shop, buy a dozen daisies for a dollar, and then we would go next door to the bakery of the grocery store and buy a dozen doughnut holes for another dollar. My mama was happy to have flowers, and my belly was happy to be full!


* Handi Snacks

Another treat that I didn't get very often, but when I did, I was the coolest kid in the lunchroom.... at least my mind.


* Movie Theater Popcorn

I like the popcorn more than the movie. Extra butter, extra salt. And I need my own. No Sharing. Get your own bag. Strangely enough, I don't really care for popcorn outside of the movies. 

* Black Jelly Beans

The best thing about Easter is jelly beans.... the best thing about jelly beans is finding the black ones.... the best thing about the black ones is that no one else wants them. I get them all to myself.



* Salami Pepper Cream Cheese Roll Up Things

I've always liked salami, but I didn't experience my first roll up until I was 18. I was meeting my future stepmother, Alice, for the first time with her son and her parents. I was leery about meeting her, and then she set a plate of these in front of me. And I devoured the entire plate. It didn't make me love her that first day, but it was a step in the right direction.

What did you love to snack on when you were a kid?

It's not ok

On Friday, Bug had a play date scheduled, so I went on my lunch break to pick up  Bug from the church day camp, since it's spring break and the kids don't have school. The kids were all outside eating lunch when I got there, so Bug saw me right away. She was excited to leave, so she yelled to her camp counselor that she was leaving.

"No, you can't leave," the counselor, who happened to be a man, said.

"No, really, my mom's here," Bug said, pointing to me.

"Oh, ok," the counselor joked, "I guess you can leave then." Then he came around from behind Bug, and wrapped his arms around her. "I just love you so much, I don't want to let you go!" he said as he kissed the top of her head.

Like this (link)

Hmmph. That's strange.

"Bug, who was that man?" I asked once we were in the car and driving away.

"That's coach Dwayne," she answered. "He really likes me. He kisses me all the time."

Holy crap.

"OK, well, I'm going to talk to Daddy about that," I said. "But do you hear me? I will talk to Daddy. Let me do it." I had a feeling The Agent was going to go ballistic over this.

"Why? What's the big deal?" Bug asked.

"It's not a big deal," I answered. "Just let me talk to Daddy about it, OK?"

I dropped Bug off at her play date and then went back to work. But actually working was out of the question. I told  a couple of my girlfriends about what happened. "That's weird, right? That's not normal, is it?"

My girlfriends all agreed that Dwayne's behavior was definitely unacceptable.

"So, I should talk to someone about it, right? Even though it's the church and they're all rainbows and unicorns over there?"

"That's WHY you need to say something now," my girlfriend urged. "Those child molesters they show on the news are always in churches and schools. And he's going to say, 'oh, it was no big deal, I did it right in front of the mom and she was ok with it.' And then it's going to be on YOU."

Oh, Lord, no.

So, I had to call The Agent and talked to him. He had two questions: How often is "all the time," and has this guy  kissed her anywhere else besides the top of her head?

I didn't know, and she was on a play date.

"Well, call her and find out," The Agent said. "And Lovely... if you find out that he kissed her anywhere else, you call me right away."

Crap. I started cry. This can't be happening.

I composed myself, and then called Bug at her friend's house.

"Hey, Baby," I said. "You know that guy that likes you? How many times has he kissed you?"

"I don't know, maybe two other times? He wasn't there last summer, this was the first week he's been there."

"And has it ever been anywhere else besides your forehead?"

"Eww, gross! He doesn't kiss my forehead, he kisses the top of my head. It's like he's kissing my hair."

"OK, but has he always kissed the top of your head, or has there been other places?"

"No, just there.... Are you freaking out, Mom?"

"No, I was just asking."

"It sounds like you're freaking out."

"I just want you to know that if something ever happened, if someone ever does something, you can tell me, OK? I love you."

"Sure, Mom.... PS, you're on speaker phone."

Wonderful.

I called The Agent back and told him what Bug had said, and his mind was eased somewhat, but we were still at a loss as to what to do. I wanted to call and talk to the children's director, The Agent wanted to go in a speak to her face to face. I agreed that face to face was better, but I was worried that The Agent would lose his temper and end up in jail. I also needed time to find a new day camp, since there was still a week left of Spring break, and there's also  the summer to think about.

What would you do in this situation? Find out what we did on Friday!

Molly's Musings-- The first shots

Hi! It's Molly again.

The Soft Lady said I grew this week! I was 7.4 pounds last week. This week,  I weighed 10.2. I'm growing! Look at this series of pictures that The Tall Man took of me:

I'm actually really too big for this bed that they gave me. They would be better off giving it to the STINKIN' CATS:

I tried to trade beds with Mama Dog, but that didn't work out so well:

In other news,  I'm REALLY mad at The Soft Lady. She took me to the vet, AGAIN. And this time, the vet gave me a shot. It was terrible, and I'm ashamed to admit that I was a bit of a baby over the whole thing. And I am told that this is the first of a series of unpleasantnesses....one of which might even involve the CONE OF SHAME.

Please Lord, no.

Weekend Update-- Baseball and retail therapy

Another weekend in the books!

Last weekend was filled with BK's school drama and opening day of baseball season, which I wrote a little bit about here. But we were also able to get away on a date night! We went to the wedding of The Agent's cousin, and I got to dance the night away while my parents watched the babies.

There is very little photographic evidence of me at this wedding. Thank goodness for that, because I was feeling large and in charge.

See the woman in the striped dress behind the boys playing on their phones during the reception? That's me. That's the only picture I've been able to find. But we had a great time, and the wedding was so sweet. I even made The Agent dance with me.... his entire family enjoyed the sight of their shy cousin on the dance floor! 

That brings me to this weekend. The kids are on spring break, but The Agent and I still had to work, so they were at the church day camp all week. I picked Bug up early on Friday to take her to a play date for the afternoon, and I witnessed one of the counselors doing something that had me stressed out for the rest of the day (more about this on Wednesday). I sent The Agent to the camp to talk to the children's director, and we were able to  get resolution. I hate to leave you in suspense, but it deserves its own post. 

On Saturday, baseball took up the biggest portion of the day. BK is on a T-Ball team, but he's one of the oldest and one of the best players, so the coach tried to pitch to him: 

But the other team got all up in arms about it. Apparently, you can't coach pitch unless there's been a vote by the league council, and there hadn't been a vote. I really wasn't sure what the big deal was-- we don't even keep score. But he had to hit off the Tee after that first time. 

But BK loves baseball, and he always has a great time. They don't play set positions in T-Ball here, so he rotated: pitcher the first inning, left field the second, and third base the third. He loves every position, no matter where he is. Some kids cry and throw a fit if they don't get to play pitcher or first base, but BK's happy no matter what. 

He's the pitcher, and the only one watching the batter

Sunday was pretty uneventful. I made chorizo and eggs  for breakfast and then I decided I needed some retail therapy:

Lots of good sales on Sunday.... Undies at Victoria's Secret  7 pairs for $27..... Old Navy sandals 40% off.... hand soap at Bath and Body Works 7 for $24 (plus I had a coupon for a free item and a second coupon for an additional 20% off. Score!).

I finished the weekend off by watching Walking Dead:

This guy is in trouble and is for sure going to die soon. Run, Father Gabriel! Maggie's gonna gun you down! 

How was your weekend?