Well last night we had ourselves a Brady night. It was blended family heaven. Ryan got home from work and dinner was almost ready to pop in the oven (it turned out not-so-good, but that’s inconsequential). Joey and I were both in good moods, Ryan had had a decent day at work so he was in a good mood. We played chase and “hide” with Joey. “Hide” is her new favorite game; she runs and stands somewhere while giggling madly and saying hide over and over. We pretend to have no idea where she is, and we loudly mourn her disappearance, and then she “reveals” herself, and all is well. Followed by round two, three ... four hundred. It was a great evening.

Today? BUNDY’S! They are at it today. I am back to the peacemaker role. Ryan has a fairly short temper, and he’s not the most patient person. Now don’t get me wrong, he’s not outright mean, and I’d never tolerate that! But he is a little stricter than I think is necessary, and he forgets to explain things to Joey. So I have to tell her why when she is in trouble, otherwise I’m not sure she’ll know what she did wrong. So here was go ... back to the Bundy’s...

Today I had an email waiting for me from a new friend when I woke up. She inspired me to go back into old post entries in this blog of mine and read some. I want to look objectively at my words and see them the way everyone else does ... Make sure I'm painting an accurate portrait...

In one of my posts, I wrote about Ryan and how, when it came to church ... Well, he was kind of a spiritual joy-sucker. A vampire, if you will. I wanted to update that and tell everyone that Ryan attends my church with me whenever possible on Sunday mornings. He's nowhere near Bible Study, Sunday School, or Church Membership, but he has gotten much more supportive. I believe that GOD is working in him, and I still pray for him to fill with the peace and light of Jesus. But hey, we're makin' progress, right?

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Also, an update on my Grandmother. Although her illness was actually very serious, she has always been a fighter, and it seems the Lord has left her here to finish whatever He sent her to do. She is slowly but surely getting better and back to her old self!

Potty training ... Grrrrr! Still not doing so good. We had a big huge set-back, and I'm not sure how to get her going again. So she isn't ... in the potty! Do I just suck at this or what?

Well, now I've screwed up my blog color scheme ... again. Man, one accidental click of the friggin mouse, and whoosh! All the color that I had to really work to get set up? GONE...

Yesterday while we were having a late family dinner, one of Richard's brothers came over to our house. Now bear in mind that they NEVER come to see Joey. Richard's family hasn't even taken enough interest in Joey to merely be polite. But now that we are apart and I am no longer hanging out with Richard's well-placed spy (or any of our mutual friends), here's his brother?

Well, what could I say? So, nervous as heck (Ryan hates them, and he wasn't in the best mood anyway - neither of us were feeling very well), I let them in. Them? Well, it was Terry Joe, who is Richard's older brother, and their old family friend Matt. So here they are, I haven't seen Matt in over three years, and Terry ... Flirting with my daughter.

Let's just say I was more than a little uncomfortable ... brother-in-law and boyfriend being introduced and having to fake polite smiles ... NICE...

Anyway, they only stayed for a minute, and Terry, whose girlfriend just had a baby herself (bad choice?) has to make his token rude comment before they leave. He's walking out, and he says, "Well, I'd better get out of here. If she (his girlfriend, Desiree) finds out I've been here, I'm automatically f@#*ing you. Bye."

What the heck was I supposed to say? "Well, we can't have her thinking that! See ya later..." So anyhow, they leave, and I look at Ryan, poor Ryan who is gripping his dinner plate fit to shatter it, and little Joey, who is fine and back to eating peacefully. I apologized to Ryan for that having been so awkward, and he said that it wouldn't have bothered him if he felt that were here to see her. But he said, "It just pisses me off that I know they were here to spy for him." And he's right. Richard has never been interested in coming to see Joey, but he has never been shy about sending in "undercover informants."

We got to talking later, and we figured, "Okay, let him spy. What will he see, other than a happy child who has adopted herself a new daddy who actually cares enough to see her and provide for her."

*Bonus = We just got Joey a brand-new little Disney Princess bike. It was standing so proudly in the middle of all her toys that are eternally scattered in the living room! Let him see this child who doesn't know or remember him or any of his family. Let him see that she has things, and people who DO love her. And let him know that he had nothing to do with it. When the day comes that he's sorry, she'll be old enough to tell him herself that he's too late, that he was never her "dad."

She can tell him that she grew up with a dad who was more for her than Richard could ever have been. She had a dad who loved her enough to CHOOSE her even though he didn't MAKE her.

So in order to get my divorce finalized, I had to go and take this co-parenting class this morning. Thankfully, Richard and I didn't have to take it together! That would've been a blast, huh? As it is, I don't think that he's going to take it at all! My attorney told me that if he doesn't take it he will get arrested...

But get this ... The teacher's name? Sunny Day! Oh my gosh, what were her parents THINKING!?! Sunny Day?! No wonder she's teaching people how to be better parents! Those of you who will be naming children in the future - Think!

And to top it off, the class was unbearably boring...

*See? I never claimed to be perfect!