Here Today Gone Tomorrow

I wrote about the frustrations of my brother moving here last August. Mostly frustrating because he left his first child 6 hours away with his first wife. If you are new to this particular drama, you can read about it HERE and HERE.

Well, as fast as they came, they have gone. Didn't tell his job, didn't bother to notify his apartment management (he was in his third month of a six month lease), didn't even bother to stay through May which he had paid for. Just woke up yesterday and decided he wanted to go home. He packed up his apartment, loaded his girlfriend and 3 babies up and left.

My mom is a left a little winded. We went over to see her last night and I am glad we did. She seemed a little blown out of the water. I am having her over for dinner tonight as well. Although in the long run this will be better on her health, it is no less shocking. She had really gotten attached to the girls.

So,I am back and a litlle dazed. Hope you are all well. Thanks for not giving up on me!

Frustration continues...dun dun da.....

Apparently this blog is becoming my 'family happenings' blog. I am trying to save Happy Baker
for happy things...hehehehe. If you are wondering what posessed me to have 3 blogs, all I can say is: I am a scatterbrain. It shows even in my blogging.

So, following my previous post, I am still a bit frustrated today. Kristen came over last night. She is so cute! They grow so fast. She is a small little thing too. Jaxson wears the same shoe size and I am pretty sure he out weighs her. She is 4 and he is 2. She has always been little. Isabella is 7 and towers over her.

Hubby has always been good with kids and the kids seem to flock to him. Kristen remembers him from the past summers. He reads to the kids every night. This past summer Kristen found this to be an awesome event and every night requested he read Green Eggs and Ham. When she has been with us for several days she calls him "daddy" or "Bella's Daddy". We have tried to insert the Aunt and Uncle titles but with Kristen it is useless. What can I say?

Here is a picture of the girls and hubby. Kristen has put her pajamas on his head and declared him the PJ KING....what does that mean? But it is cute...


After baths, stories, prayers and MANY drinks of water, Kristen finally fell asleep.
This morning I woke to her tiny face. I could tell she was struggling not to cry. "Can I call my mommy?" Of course, I got up and let her call.

Is is just me? Am I neurotic? But when my children are with someone else, even grandparents, for more than 2-3 hours, I call and check on them. Her mom hasn't talked to her since she left Texas on Friday. And my brother...well. He works from
3pm to 11pm. That is the "reason" she can't stay with him. Apparently Kristen would be too much for the new wife to handle at night. (And after seeing how she is with Kristen, I am not sure I want Kristen there when Jack isn't anyway.) But he could pick her up in the mornings and spend time with her. He didn't see her yesterday, because she did not want to go over there. Apparently it is too much of a trouble for him to come to her now. And today he didn't even call. Kristen never talks about him. It makes me incredibly sad. And mad.

My mom is taking her home Friday morning after they see the new baby at the hospital.
I am wondering if he will see her before that. Probably not. I am so conflicted!
There is a good chance he could get his visitation rights cut back because he doesn;t make the effort to get her once a month for a weekend like he is supposed to. Now when she goes home Kristen is going to tell her mom all about spending time with Nana and Aunt Sara. I wonder if she will be upset that Kristen didn't see Jack.
And at what point do we, my mother and I, have to step back and let go. He, in theory, could lose all visitation with her. And that would mean we wouldn't be able to see her either unless her mother let us.

I guess July will tell the tale. He is supposed to have her the entire month. Last year, Bob and I had her most of the time. Jack had her for 4 days. sigh.....is this post as "rambling" sounding as I think it is?

Frustration....

that is what I am feeling right this moment. It is early morning so there is a chance for this to go away by the end of the day, right?

**Apologies to my few regular readers and to any new readers who have come across this. This is not my usual type of post**

Kristen is here for Spring Break. She lives 6 hours away. She is 4, will be 5 in June. My brother,Jack, has not seen his daughter since AUGUST. Where is Kristen? At this moment she is with my mom and my daughter, they had a girls' night last night. Which is fine and I am glad they had a chance to do it. But where will Kristen be from 3pm today until Friday morning? With me and my family. Let me pause to say, I do not mind having her. Every summer we have her at least a week, if not 2 weeks of the month that is Jack's. She is lucky to get a few days with Jack out of that month.
I am not upset that she will be here, I am upset at the total lack of responsibility on my brother's part. Yes, he has a new wife that is expecting a baby on Friday and yes they have twins that are barely a year old, however, he also has Kristen.
It is a hard situation and I agree that it isn't ideal. But the new wife, pregnant or not, doesn't really want Kristen around. She even convinced my brother to move here. They used to live in Texas. The new wife doesn't like the old one, so they moved. Where does that leave Kristen?
I want to shake my brother. There will come a day, and it isn't too far away, that Kristen will decide she doesn't want to come. Jack lives in the moment. He cannot see past the end of his nose. He has never planned for the future. My heart hurts. Her first night here, remember he hasn't seen her since AUGUST, and she stayed with my mom. The reason? They had to get ready for the twin's party. What kind of crap is that? You can't bake some cupcakes with a 4 year old around? Why not let her help?
And if your new wife isn't ok with your daughter, then you chose poorly my dear brother.

Ok, I think I have it out of my system. **Again apologies, this is not my usual type of post content. I needed to vent....seeth actually...**