Update on Family & Kids visit

This is long...VERY LONG....  I warned you....lol  (pics below)

My in-laws were great! Every night they were here (except one) they took us out to dinner. The one night I cooked, they kept telling me not to and they felt bad. They told Brock that I don't need to cook again and they would take us out. To be honest, I only cooked because getting 6 adults out of the house for dinner results in a very late meal and I hate eating after 9. Plus I felt kind of bad about all the money they were spending. They are big eaters and drinkers. I can't imagine what the checks looked like!  We tried to pay for a dinner and breakfast but they wouldn't let us.  Plus they have bought lots of fruit and other food for the house.  The only small downside is that Brock's uncle smokes. He leaves the house but he was putting his cigarette butts in the kitchen garbage so the kitchen was starting to smell. I asked him to flush them and all was fine. They're all very easy going and don't want to be in our way. They even clean behind themselves (even though they used like 3 rolls of paper towels in one week).  The kids arrived on Saturday the 10th and the in-laws left on Sunday the 11th to go to Alabama for Brock's aunt's surgery. They didn't come back until Friday the 16th so it was nice not having their time here overlap with the kids. Over the weekend they did their own thing and then they left on the 20th.

Now onto the kids. My 10 year old goddaughter and 11 year old cousin are here.  There have been some rocky moments but mostly they've been good. On Saturday the 10th (after the A08GTG) I went to pick them up from the airport then we went to Centennial park. They had fun running through the fountain.  On Sunday we went to church then to the library. Me and my goddaughter are reading "Are You There God, Its Me Margaret" together.  Later Brock brought them home a slip n slide. They loved it!  Brock did too!

The first Sunday night was where things got rough.  My goddaughter didn't want to go to sleep. She is 10. She complained because she said she always falls asleep with the TV on. She said she couldn't sleep without it. I put on a radio for her and a night light. Every 10 minutes until about midnight she kept coming in my room crying saying she wanted to talk to me. She also called her mom crying saying she wanted to go home (I'm friends with her dad who is raising her, not her mom).  Finally she fell asleep. On Monday they went to camp and loved it. On Monday night we went through the same thing with her. She kept crying and when we told her to go to bed she told us she hated it here and wouldn't ever come back to visit us. When we told her to get off the phone with her mom she yelled at us. I got on the phone with her mom who then started yelling at me.  Even though I was on edge I was really calm. I told her mother that I would only speak to her as an adult.  I explained that her daughter didn't want to sleep without tv and that she was being dramatic. I asked her mom to tell her goodnight (it was after 10pm) and tell her she would talk to her tomorrow. She listened and did that but my goddaughter still cried and even yelled at Brock. Apparently her mom told her she would buy her a ticket so she could go home early.  On Tuesday I tried talking to her before bed but she kept saying she liked camp but hated it here because she couldn't fall asleep at night.  That night she behaved the same but it did not go on  as late. On Wednesday when I got home she had an attitude because Brock was making them do school work every day for 30 minutes after camp.  She refused to do it, saying she didn't want to because it was summer.  Brock let her have a pass for the day but told her that she'd have to do it the next day.  When I got home she helped me cook dinner and we were talking. She asked me if I was going to call her mom. I asked her what for. She said I needed to call her mom to make arrangements to go home. I told her that I was not calling her mom and that if she went home early that this might be her last visit here until she could pay for it because I was not going to buy a ticket for her to visit again if she didn't appreciate it.  I think that hurt her feelings. Then dinner time came. She is an extremely picky eater. She doesn't eat beans, hamburger or sandwiches, just to name a few....  I encourage her to try foods she thinks she doesn't like anyway because she has never tasted them when I've made them. I think that she is just super spoiled. So that night at dinner she refuses to eat the black beans and yellow rice. She said she only eats white rice.    So Brock gets pissed and tells her to go to bed. I got upset because even though I don't like that she's so picky, I think that we shouldn't argue with the kids about what they eat because they're not our kids and we didn't raise them that way. So anyway, Brock goes upstairs to talk to her and tells her that she's being rude by not thanking me for dinner after I've worked hard all day and cooked. He tells her that she has to try new foods and sometimes do things she doesn't like (like schoolwork) because its for her own good. He also told her that we weren't going to be arguing with her anymore. He told her she could leave her room and she came downstairs and apologized. She said she was sorry for not eating the food and said that she wanted to visit me again so she wouldn't try to go home early.  After that I hugged her and promised her that she would have more fun times here than bad times. She was happy and we ended up sitting on the porch in my rocking chairs and I taught her how to knit. She loved it!  It was a really nice moment.  We got to talk about a lot of things. One of them was her family. She is her father's only child but her mother has 3 other children that are older than her. Her 13 year old sister has a baby and her 16 year old brother has 2!  Plus her oldest brother is in jail.  I really want to protect her and keep her from turning into a statistic like her siblings. I am trying to be a good role model. Thankfully after that day she's been fine. We haven't had any problems out of her. She even said she likes the Algebra work that Brock gave her to do. I guess those first few days were just and adjustment period.  The boy, my cousin, was fine this whole time. He just rolls with whatever is going on and eats almost anything. lol

That Friday we went to the drive-in move. They loved it!  We saw Despicable Me. It was good!  On Saturday the kids spent the day with Brock at a picnic while I helped my BFF after her surgery.  On Sunday we went to the Martin Luther King center.  This past weekend we didn't do anything on Friday because both kids, yes both, got in trouble at camp. Staying home and not watching TV or playing on the computer was their punishment. Then on Saturday morning they had chores to do. They did laundry, vacuumed and cleaned.  Later I had a migraine so Brock took them to a museum. On Saturday night we had movie night and watched Wolverine. On Sunday we went to a friend's pool and then when we came home they got on the slip n slide again while Brock grilled. 

Oh, and last week I had a talk with my goddaughter about her period!  She said that her stomach hurt and it might be cramps. LOL  She hasn't had her period so I asked her what she knew about it (mostly wrong info) and filled her in. I am thinking about buying her a book about her body before we leave.

Last week they also had parent's day at camp so I went to see the kids perform. Some of it was cute, some of it was not. All kids are not talented. LOL

And I did my goddaughter's hair!  OMG I don't want to have to do a little girl's hair ever again!

The kids will be here until Saturday. On Friday night I plan to take them to the Coca Cola Museum.

During the week its been kind of hard to work all day, come home and cook dinner plus spend time with Brock and the kids. We have both been worn out. I'm really thankful that Brock has been so hands on. Every day I drive them to camp and he picks them up. After camp he does school work with them and when I get home I cook dinner. Then we play with them or let them watch TV, then its bed time. Plus Brock and I have hardly had any alone time. We are too tired to talk much when we do so we miss each other a lot.  I can honestly say that this experience has made me feel like I am not in a rush to have kids. I'm so glad that I have been able to spend time with them and give their parents a break but its going to be nice to be able to send them home this week.

** EDIT ** - I also wanted to add that I have a new respect for moms and dads. Its very hard work, especially when you're trying to do it right.  I applaud you!

Enjoy the pics below!

Slip N Slide

Slip N Slide is NOT for grownups! LOL

At Centennial Park

Knocked out after the drive-in

Enjoying his first Chick-fil-a sandwich

Brock taking out goddaughter's braids

Kids at the MLK Center

Bathing Beauties