A nice week-end and some crazy drama.

So we had a lovely weekend. Joe and Laura were and still are and always have been the coolest of people and the dearest of friends. We had fun times. Ate a boat load of food, and drank some beers. We actually did not make it to Momentum Tulsa because of all the food and beers we consumed Saturday night. In fact, except for a walking tour of Tulsa Saturday afternoon after stuffing ourselves at the Blue Dome Diner, we pretty much stuck close to home. Friday night we ordered pizza and made margaritas, and Sunday we just grabbed some Brunch before they headed back to Austin. Though afterwards, Jen and I took the boys to a birthday party for a two-years-old girl. Kellon is the daughter of a work buddy, and we had fun at the party. There was a pool and a pinãta and strawberry cake.


Joe and Laura did accompany us to Jackson's first soccer practice. He's two, so it wasn't really a practice so much as a bunch of little kids running around in circles. He had a blast. His one greatest love in life is running, so this may just be the sport for him. He also loves trains and puzzles, just so you know come birthday time.*


On to the drama. Remember the "massage therapist" who's kid Jenn watches during the day?
Well she and her roommate had a falling out while on a trip to Vegas or some shit. The roommate, who is also the receptionist at the Parlor, kicked them out. Now they are living in an extended stay hotel in the totally awesome part of town. She only recently got a car, but still doesn't have a valid license because of warrants out on her in like 4 states. So Jenn has to drive to the complete opposite side of town and hang out around a seedy hotel to pick up and drop off the kid now. This was not the Original deal. Originally, Jenn picked up Scarlett from a much closer and safer location, and They picked her up. The mom isn't really paying anything extra for gas, either. In addition to having to drive longer, Jen also keeps the kid longer. The OD (original deal) was to pick up Scarlett around 2pm, sometimes noon, and they would come get her around 9:30. Oh, no. It's more like 9am to 11pm now.
So let's talk about living in a hotel with a toddler for a sec, shall we? First, there is no kitchen. This means no fridge. Scarlett seems to subsist completely on food from the McDonalds across from the hotel. Last week, Jen picked her up at 9:45am. Scarlett had just woken up( which means she must have been up all night), and hadn't been changed(she was in the same diaper we sent her home in) or fed. Her mom handed Jenn $5.00, and suggested she get her some chicken nuggets on our way out. classy. 2) No sink. This means her bottles never get clean, and we have to wash spoiled milk out of them ourselves. yum. 3) While there are laundry facilities on site, The mom does not use them. The place is filled with dirty laundry, and after Jenn had gone through a bunch of winter clothing that didn't fit any more, she devised a plan. She bought a bunch of clothes Scarlett's size at a garage sale for like five bucks(after she told the nice soccer mom why she was buying a bunch of girl clothes when she obviously had two boys, the lady gave Jenn everything she had in that size for free), and she changes her when she gets her, then changes her back right before she takes her back. So sad that she has to do that. 3) No yard/place to play outside. A yard in not necessary to raise a kid, but it sure does help. The hotel has no amenities, not that Scarlett's mom would use them if it did. That kid barely sees sunshine unless she's with us. Jen has gathered that Scarlett just wanders around the hotel room while her mom watches TV and talks on the phone. She certainly doesn't do anything like feed her, that's for sure. Whenever Jenn gets her she's filthy.


There is more. A lot more. Ask Jenn about that.


So what is to be done? Scarlett had a different babysitter on the weekends up until recently(she was with us for up to 12 hours most weekdays, and with these other people on the weekends).
The other Babysitter works at the health department, and called to ask a few questions of DHS.
They said that when they get a call, they usually take the kid for a period of two weeks while they do an investigation. And int this situation, unless they found drugs or drug paraphernalia on site, she's not actually doing anything illegal. There is no law against being a shitty mother, just an abusive one, and nothing here technically qualifies as abuse. Jen is going to sit tight for the moment. We both feel like Scarlett's time with Jenn is the healthiest time she spends with anyone. If we put her into the system, there is no guarantee that they would put her somewhere decent. At least this way, we know she's taken care of. And we get paid as well.


However, new variables have arisen. Jackson has two cousins that live in Grove. Their mother just had a new baby(a story unto itself that could rival this one). Jenn suggested a few months ago that when the baby comes, the older kids could come to Tulsa, stay with their grand parents at night, and stay with Jenn during the day. This was also suggested at a time when we all thought Jennifer's sister would be living in Tulsa by this point. Well, the cousin's mom and the baby had some complications, and the baby was born early, and they were both life-flighted to St.Francis Hospital in Tulsa a few days ago. Depending on the health of mother and child, we may have the cousins for the entire summer. Also because of various reasons, Jenn's sister isn't here yet.


Scarlett and her mother are currently on a trip back east to see family. When they get back, it may shake out that Jen would be responsible up to five kids all by herself every day. That's way too much for her, especially since Joseph is still nursing. Jen's parents were going to pay her for keeping the cousins, and I think she feels like if that money is good enough, she'll let Scarlett go.
Personally, I'm hoping they just stay out east and start mooching off family there.


Suggestions? Comments? What do you guys think?



-JP

I think they should have started at the other end.

Been a while, eh? But I start almost every post these days with some form of that.

So what I'm really excited about is that my friends Joey and Laura are coming here for the weekend! This is extra cool, because I have a lot of friends that I'd like to see, but with the kids and all it's a little hard to pace everybody up and take off, even for a weekend. So when friends come to me, I think that's extra cool.*

I'm not sure what all we are going to do, but it will be fun regardless. I do have some press comps for Momentum Tulsa tomorrow night, so we may do that. I don't think I have seen Joey since he and I went to Denver last April. Far too long in my opinion. Joey is also who we named our second son after. He rocks.

Also Jackson starts soccer this weekend. That's exciting. That boy loves to run, and soccer just might be the sport for him. At this age, it is more like magnet ball, where they all just clump up where the ball is and kick at it until it squirts out, and then they all converge on it again, but what are you gonna do?

Looks like we're going to need a new roof, thanks to all the severe weather we've been having.

Other than that, not much going on.

-JP


*Take the hint, people I'd really like to see.

Memes LOL

Count the memes!

All hail! All Weekend

So we sat through two separate and intense hail storms over the weekend, both about 11:00 am, both fierce. As you ca see above, the bulk of the hail was about the size of a quarter. It looked like it had snowed, and we had a drift in front of our door about 4 inches deep.

More pics here.

-JP