Serial EA/PA WAW/MLC

[BradNL]

Karen, yep, they do seem to think the world revolves around their navel... I find it quite ironic that through the marriage I have been the distant and angry one, and now the roles are reversed, with W being more distant and angry than I was, and I've become more handy around the household and spending more time with the kids...

Surprisingly had a good easter long weekend, W was gone from Thursday until Sunday morning. The kids & I had a relatively quiet time, did some grocery shopping, got some photos done of S8 for his visa application (he has a South African passport, need a visa for him to go to the USA to visit my sister). The rest of the weekend we pretty much stayed inside since it was either snowing or raining and sub zero outside.

Sunday morning I got an early panicy phonecall from W who was on her way home and thought daylight savings had kicked in... but here it only is happening on the 30th... gaah, getting woken up by the phone 40 minutes earlier than you planned to wake up sucks! Called her back after I got my wits together (and checked for my own sanity) and told her that it was only on the 30th. Went back to bed to try get a little more rest before my planned wake up time.

No problems getting the kids up, myself showered and cleaned up (I trimmed my beard/mustache the day before and shaved) so I would look good in the photos *8) Got to the Hard Rock a few minutes before the Egg Hunt event started, so everything was pretty perfect, bloody cold waiting outside for it to open though!

I thought the whole event was quite pleasant, breakfast was a bit greasy, but that is hard to avoid with bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, hash browns etc as the buffet... Kids ate their food, drank their juice, we took pictures and then the egg hunt started. S8 managed to get the most of the small eggs I think, I helped S5 with his hunting (and purposefully didn't point out all the eggs, left some for others to find). Neither of them found any of the special large eggs, but they didn't seem to mind too much with their haul of mini choc eggs *8)

Both of them then took some time to paint a few boiled eggs, we made a choice not to take them home though... wet painted eggs are not something easily transported at the best of times. Wasn't much complaining or whining on the way home either, so as close to a perfect outing as most parents could expect.

In the afternoon we went to watch Horton Hears a Who, was really amusing, the kids & I enjoyed it a lot, W spent long spans of the movie asleep in her seat. I definitely recommend the movie to all parents, good fun for all ages *8)

Monday I got to sleep in (yay!) and W took the kids outside after breakfast because it had snowed quite a bit during the night. Once I got up I got myself together and went outside to join in the snow games. W was already back upstairs talking to a neighbour, so I had the kids to myself, one of their friends was also out in the snow.

Since it was all boys there was an abundance of snowballs being thrown around. I pelted those rugrats with those soft powdery snowballs as often as possible and got the same treatment back... snowball to the ear is COLD dammit! S5 and I rolled up some HUGE snowballs and made a snowman too. Actually S5 was my ammo man, he would roll up big snowballs and hand them to me so I could pelt his brother & friend regularly *8)

All went inside after we got too cold, spent the rest of the day playing computer games and a board game or two. Quiet, relaxed and fun in my book.

After the kids were in bed W let rip with one of her "you let them play games too much" speeches, along with the "you are trying to play favourites" and, when I wouldn't retaliate to her anger got the "this is why we could never stay married" as well. Sure, I let them play too much over the weekend, but they have so little time outside of sport, school and daycare that it just seems cruel to deny them tv and games when they do have the opportunity? And of course I know that they shouldn't spend so much time in front of a screen of any description. Ended W's repetition by telling her that I wasn't going to have a conversation where her only objective is to attack me, I told her that I understand what she is saying and I agree with most of her points too. W told me it was "very adult" (with enough sarcasm to kill a horse) to end the conversation like that.

Found out that W is doing me a favour by going away every weekend... its so I can get used to the way things will be when she finally moves out... er... I didn't point out that she has all but moved out already. The kids asked her if she was going to be home in the week at all, her reply was that she'd be there monday night. Tuesday was parent-teacher conference & gym, today is dinner, tomorrow is a different event with her social club, friday and saturday she is away again... Yep, she is doing me a favour by showing the kids that she is more interested in being out than at home.

Why does she think the kids don't ask much where she is? Its simple, she isn't THERE much, every chance she gets she is away. And all the kids see is that their mom would rather be somewhere else than at home with them (even if its more of her just wanting to be somewhere else than at home with me). I don't understand how she can think I am trying to do the favorite thing, I'm competing against an absent person, its a no-contest situation!

I do have to get off my butt and make sure that S8 & S5 get to their sports on saturday, its good for them and I also need to get back into going to the gym. All of us had bouts of coughs and colds over the last few weeks but we are all back to normal now so there is no excuse. Got "you should have gotten your license" thrown at me again in the conversation as well... yes, I should have one, no, I don't have one. I have severe panic attacks about driving and have avoided it since trying to get my license a few years ago. And a bit of a moot point since W takes the car on her weekend jaunts, so I couldn't take the car anyway. No, I will not buy a second car! They're expensive here in Europe.

Ok, I have a meeting coming up, got to go. Hope you all had a Happy Easter!