Wednesday was open house at my son's school. My ex came to the house to stay with the kids while I went to the school. He was there for dinner. He offered to do the dishes and then asked the kids to play a game with him. (remember - these were things he didn't do before). The next day he emailed me to thank me for letting him watch the kids, that he had fun and was amazed at how well our son reads. He really didn't need to thank me, he is their father and the first person I'd ask to come stay with the kids when I go out. Don't get me wrong, it's great that he is finally taking an interest in them. Just sad that it came about because we are separated. And it felt weird having him at the house, acting like a normal family.

Then today. He emailed me.
Does this mean he is paying for them? My first thought was "why...

Nothing related to sex, keep your minds out of the gutter

It seems that many people know of my upcoming promotion, even though it is not official yet. Being in Human Resources, we see all of the paperwork as it travels through the process. My friend in Classification&Compensation is responsible for the position side of it all. He saw a copy of my new job description and came to my office to ask me about it, assuming I already knew. I had an idea, but he gave me details. I will be promoted to an assistant manager of HRIS & Records, the low end of the salary range proposed would mean a $15,000 raise, minimum. They have asked for me to get something in the middle of the range, which would be a $17,000 raise! HOLY CRAP!!! I was totally not expecting that! I probably would not have had to rent the apartment if I knew this sooner, but I am still glad I rented it. Between the child support, the rent and my raise, the kids and I will be living much better and less...

Does that make me a bad person?

I spoke with my ex yesterday. He called to ask if he can see the kids for an evening on the weeks that he does not have them on the weekend and we ended up talking about other things. When we switched which weekends he had the kids, I didn't question why. I didn't want to know that he was going to visit her, I really didn't care. During conversation, I find that is indeed where he went. He was actually calling me as he was driving home. He complained that he drove 12 hours to spend one day with her and drive 12 hours back. Poor baby.... fuckin' waaaahh... I held my tongue. He then goes on to tell me that he got sick while he was there and spent most of the time in bed, sick, and didn't leave until Wednesday. Boy! Did I want to laugh in his face! Again, I held my tongue, only saying "uh huh". I asked him when he was going to find a place of his own (for my kid's sake, really). He said not for a few months yet. I asked if she was...

This was an email that my parents sent to me. I don't ever forward these types of emails on, let alone read them, but for some reason this one caught my attention. Probably because it was from my parents. I still won't forward it. I just liked what it said. It seemed to relate to my life.

Thing taken away: my marriage
something...

Earlier this week, I got mad at myself for being jealous of my sister's clean house. I realized that instead of sitting around and getting depressed, I should get off my ass and do something about it. So I did. I spent less time on Facebook and more time cleaning/organizing. I cleared out the linen closet and made it more of a storage closet/litter closet. This enabled me to get the litter out of the bathroom (hoping that will make it easier to keep the bathroom clean). I went through all the old towels and sheets and got rid of the ones I no longer need, the good towels went into the bathroom, sheets went into the appropriate bedroom. The closet looks so neat now, I am so happy that I did that. I even found some things I forgot I had! Next up, the kitchen. It became a catch-all for things I didn't know where to put. Time to de-clutter, organize and simplify. This realization and the fact that I acted upon it leaves me with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Actually,...