Colette sneaks in the back and hopes nobody notices she was missing..lol

Wow!! Where has the time gone? I swear its like one day runs into the next here so without a further ado I will catch you guys up as to whats been going on here!

Joshua moved back home Thursday and I couldn't be more happy. Things are alot better, not perfect mind you but much better. I am amazed at his ability to say " I am sorry". The other night we got into it about something and later he came to me and hugged me and said " I am sorry" I have to admit I was shocked at first! In the past he never said he was sorry and over the coarse of the past 4 days he has said it a couple times.

As some of you know Josh is in an alternative school and it looks like he will be getting out and being able to go back to his old school! He had to get an 80% by midterm to get out and he has had to get 100% each day for the past 2 weeks in order to get an average of 80% so needless to say he is VERY STRESSED! Still this is NOT an excuse to scream, cuss or take your anger out on others and I have had to remind him of this a couple times. I received the call yesterday to set up the appointment with the school board to have a " re-entry" meeting to get him back into the Jr High he was in before he got expelled so at this point we are keeping our fingers crossed he is able to go back. Its up to the hearing officer.

Living with his dad for 3 months has been so hard on Joshua and I do think he has realized to some extant how good he had it here. He would always come and spend the weekends with me and would complain about how his dad never cooked anything healthy, the house stunk like cigarettes all the time and how he didn't have cable! It was so hard to have to hear this but in the back of my mind I kept saying to myself..."it won't hurt him to eat fried chicken.....hopefully he won't EVER smoke since he had to live in that nasty environment and not having cable won't kill him besides he needs to read more anyways"!! These are just some of the things that because of his actions he needed to deal with! For me it was hard not having him here. On Sunday afternoons he would become withdrawn and quiet...thinking about going back to his dads! That was the hardest for me! Tough love is not an easy thing but I am trying my damnedest to keep him on the straight and narrow now before he really gets into trouble and ruins the rest of his future!!

Having my kids back together with me is only going to make this Christmas much sweeter. oh speaking of Christmas, I am DONE with EVERYTHING!! I have everything bought, wrapped and put away! So now I can sit back a bit, slow down some and enjoy the holidays with my family! I am off 4 days for Christmas and plan on just chilling and doing some reading.....those are two things I don't get to do enough!!

Christmas eve my mom and grandmother from Florida is coming over to exchange presents and visit. It should be nice to spend some time with them. Christmas morning is always spent at home because of the kids. I just don't think its fair to drag them all over creation on Christmas morning when they want to sit on the floor in their PJ's and play with all the toys that Santa will bring. This year we are going to go over to Stephen's mom and dad's house in the afternoon on Christmas day...all of us! I am really nervous about that because I have met his mother once, but have never met his dad or sister and we have been dating for a long time! Guess I am worried they won't like me or think my kids are brats! Oh well they will have to accept us no matter what...that's what families do....right?

I have been so busy I forgot to post Monday after my WI........I am glad to say I am down .2!!! Whoopee * twirls her finger in the air!! I swear like alot of you I am at the "I don't give a shit" bend in the road and I have a feeling when I do go around this bend its downhill all the way...LOL So I figured the best thing to do is just hold on and enjoy the ride!! I have vowed come after Christmas I am going to get serious and start really trying to lose this weight. I ordered off Amazon.com a DVD by Richard Simmons called " Disco Sweat" and it looks awesome. If you have never done any of his tapes you will know that he gives a great workout and you will sweat...that's a guarantee!! I also got a Butt master and a Thigh master....my ASS needs all the help it can get!! LOL. has anyone had any success with one of those? I have never used one before and it looks simple enough...guess time will tell huh?

I LOVE walking in the evenings here at the park with some friends of mine but when the weather gets cold I just can't do it. I am miserable when I am cold and if the wind is blowing I am out of there, guess it doesn't help the park is built on the bayou so 50% of the time your walking right next to the water. So I am hoping to mix up some of my workouts with the DVD and Thigh master! So that's the plan so far.......


And on a brighter note...today would have been my PawPaw's birthday! I think he would have been 75. He passed away about 5 years ago. He was my mother's father and when my mother got divorced her and I lived with my grandparents for several years. He was just like a dad to me and I miss him so much! Here is a picture of him with my Mewmaw on their 50th Wedding anniversary. We threw them a huge party!

Ok well sorry for gripping so much, but I do feel better now! Just wanted to let you guys know I am still alive. I have been lurking a little here and there but things have really been busy at work and I got a ton of reports I have to complete before the end of the year!! So my blogging will definately be hit and miss!
I love you all and merry Christmas!!