Survived!!

This past weekend Paityn went on her first camping trip ever. Ok, so Corbin, two girls from the neighborhood and I were also with her. I have to say that again my girly girl impressed me with her ability to do pretty well.

Friday night was an evening that I am not sure how Mom survived. I got off work, came home, picked up dog, crate, 2 kids and filled my car to a point that I didn't know it could be filled. Drove to the camp site, unloaded everything, ate, walked around with kids to set up rules....I know we did more then that but even that makes me tired typing it all. I did discover that my amazingly organized man had a ton done for us when we got there. Tents were set up, chairs set up, food organized, fire wood and necessary things all ready for marshmallows and fun.

Now, Saturday should have been a morning of relaxing and sleeping as late as we could. Instead we were up at 3 am with three girls that decided that was the best time to become social. One of them (not Paityn) was the main instigator. Needless to say the morning was ended with several warnings that if behavior did not improve kids were going home. Even with that they were amazing.

By the time we packed up on Sunday we had sent one child home with her mom (her refusal to listen became a safety hazard), had a hot dog roast with Grandma Kari and Grandpa Ervin, Corbins mom and his nephews, enjoyed water fights and actually had a night of really good sleep.

The gang...

So, this weekend Corbin and I are taking Paityn and two neighborhood kids camping with us. One of the kids moms told me I was crazy.... such a perfect description for Jen Senn. I thought I would post a before picture so we can see if camping does us all in. More to come on Sunday.

Packing, packing and more packing

Well, we have officially tackled the task of packing. One bathroom all done, kitchen almost all done, misc stuff all over done. Just got to keep going. I figure two to three boxes a night all during the week and a bunch more on the weekend....I should make it. Check with my mom and Matt Delay in 30 days... they will tell you if I was successful.

Testing, testing....can you read me?

Well, the time has come. I am getting rid of cable/internet until our move. So, as a fairly new Blogger who wants to continue I was saddened by this.....until wait.... I thought of my phone. They have some kind of app for just about everything else....let's look: YES!! Blogger for my phone. INSTALLED! I nearly guarantee there will be no long posts but at the Two SENNsational Ladies adventures will continue.

Tough Decisions

How do you decide to go from a nice person to a person on a defensive strike? Heck, for that matter, how do you decide that what you thought was being a nice person is, in all actuality, allowing a person to continue to walk all over you?

As I write this I want so badly to have the answers drop out of the sky in yes or no form. That is not happening. I have begun to think about a no contact order (a form of a restraining order) against Martin and have also begun to research the contempt of court charges that I was advised to file a while ago. The reason for all of this is harassment that is not stopping and his inability to do anything that he is supposed to do to step up and take care of our daughter.

It saddens me really. How can a man put so little importance on his child that he can't even begin to be responsible for her.

As I write this I ask that anyone reading it would keep me in your thoughts and prayers as the road I am travelling continues to be one that I would rather not be on. I know that my Lord continues to strengthen me. I also know that he is in control and protects me. Those things bring a peace that is amazing.

Love to you all!~

Lessons Learned

Sometimes it is so hard to be mom. To be the one to teach the lessons in life that are hard to learn. Today was one of those days. As I posted earlier today was a day of celebration for Paityn's birthday. We had kids from the neighborhood and one from daycare all here. Now, my daughter is used to being around lots of kids at one time. She usually does very well, but as the day wore on I was sad to see that the friend from daycare was somewhat being ignored and was enjoying hanging out with me more then with the kids.

This evening Paityn and two of the kids were outside playing in our front yard. I noticed that Louie had not barked lately, which he frequently does when the kids are playing. So, I went out looking for them only to find my front yard empty and Paityn no where to be found. She was at the end of the street at someones house that she had not asked to go to. Now I understand that kids get distracted and she was at a home that I totally trust her to be at. However, she has done this three times in the last two weeks.....here comes the hard lesson to learn. I called Paityn down to our house and told her that all the kids except the one from daycare needed to go home right then and they could not have a sleep over. After several minutes of making a scene in the front yard....don't know who she would get the dramatic side from.... she came in. I called her into my room as she still had company over. I told her that I was done tracking her down. We have a "checking in" rule for a reason. She is not allowed to change plans what so ever unless she checks in. When she doesn't do that it forces me to have to take other measures. I also told her that I was sad to see that the friend from daycare had spent much of the day on her own.

Here comes the oh so proud mom moment. Paityn pulled herself together. She spent some time getting jammies on and calming down only to return to the living room where her friend was at. She looked right her and apologized for ignoring her for most of the day. She said that she was very sorry and that she knew it was wrong. The friend said not to worry, she was used to being alone since she has no siblings. Paityn looked at her and said, "no, I can be a better friend then that and I am sorry I didn't today."

Point to my long drawn out story. There are times in this life when i feel that i am for sure doing everything possible to mess up my child. I felt horrible when I sent the other kids away. However, as I listened to the heart felt apology and explanation of what a friend should be coming from my daughters lips I was again reminded that these hard moments have their reward and I will probably not be lucky enough to witness many of them, but I can at least know that they are there.

Birthday Bash and Craziness

So, I decided that this summer must be the summer of complete craziness for Paityn and I. We at any given time can be driving between Greeley, Loveland and Fort Collins in one day and often find that if we are home we have at least four extra kids in tow. I love the joy of hearing a bunch of young girls laughing.

Today we are celebrating Paityn's birthday. Now, I tend to go overboard on this day. I always have a big get together, cake, food, games (or sidewalk paint) and a lot of loved ones around. This year with so many changes taking place in our life we decided to just keep it simple. A few of our close friends are coming over and the neighborhood kids will be here to celebrate. Cupcakes and lemonade.... hard to do when I am used to spending the whole day preparing.

Last night I took four girls to the Centerra shopping center to go and just enjoy some time together and to watch the "Karate Kid" movie on the big blow up screen. talk about amazing fun. As I sat there I realized just how mature my little girl is coming and how blessed I am to have her in my life. Do plans ever go as they should when there are five girls involved...heck no, but I guarantee on the way home all of them were talking about how they wanted to do it again. I also believe that I have more knowledge of Justin Bieber then any one person should have now.

Please know that I am aware that none of pictures are uploaded with this post. This is where the craziness comes in. I know that I keep thinking of things to blog about and I don't do them because I just don't have time to do them as I wish I could. So, that being said, I am going to start doing the writing when I think of it and I can add the pictures later. Maybe look for one post of just pictures.