Wow, where DOES the time go?

Yes, I have been sick and I have been working, but DAMN! It has been 3 weeks since I posted! you guys know I go for days sometimes, but not normally THIS long! So, here goes the update!

Lots going on this last few weeks... As many of you know, our older daughter moved home back in December with her hubby and their baby (AKA world's greatest grandbaby). Things were good for a long time. But they began to disintegrate somewhere along the line and her hubby moved out on 3/10 without even telling her what was up... Then, he added himself back to his mom's food stamp case and filed for divorce! How weird is THAT! He did not even tell Eliza what was what till like 3/13...and filed on 3/16! SO, as he filed first and she was unaware till then, he got the legal aid group to represent him and he wants joint custody of the baby. He did next to nothing to help take care of the baby when they were together and now puts in the divorce papers that they shared the care of the baby equally while married. What a joke! And, he still isn't working (hasn't since like September) and has no ability to pay support. If it weren't for Medicaid, the little guy wouldn't have health insurance either. So, Josh moved home to his mommy and daddy's house where they will support him and allow him to just screw around and do nothing. Eliza is still at our home and taking college classes and trying to prepare to be a part of the GROWN UP WORLD!! She told him that he couldn't continue to live like that, but he probably will till his parents die or get sick of him freeloading on them. He has two younger brothers doing much the same thing though, so I guess they have a lot more patience for freeloading than my hubby and I ever did.

Eliza's got a great lawyer but had to pay a pricey retainer. He is young and enthusiastic and is getting paid for what he does (as opposed to the average pro bono/legal aid type representation) and will hopefully rock deal ole' Josh's world so that he rues the day he ever started this crap. I told Eliza last night that I wanted her to find someone who truly loves her for the person she is and not just what they feel she can get for or give to them. And, I want that person to love my little grandson as if he were their very own baby. She said she plans to do just that! She was really in a funk at first and didn't really even cry over losing Josh. I guess the writing's been on the wall for her for some time now. But, now she's got a good mad on and is out to set this right and make him support this baby.

She requested sole custody based upon how little he cared for the baby and how terrible the living situation is at her inlaws' home. The cigarette smoke is AWFUL! Those people smoke something like 5 cartons of cigarettes per week! And they do most of it right inside the house where the baby lives and breathes. We had a crib at that house while they were living there--painted white... Needless to say after 6 or so months in THAT house, there is this ugly yellow nicotine stain all over it. It is disgusting! And that poor baby was forced to breathe that air day in and day out. I would be ashamed to find something like that being forced on a baby.... Ever seen that new tobacco prevention commercial with all the little plastic babies crawling around a city sidewalk? In the end, one of them rolls over and the words on their belly are revealed to the camera. It says something like "How do babies avoid second hand smoke?" Then, the second line is "eventually they begin to crawl..." If the people don't have sense enough to keep the smoke away from them, eventually they try to get away from it themselves.... Pitiful!

SO, with that said, she has a hearing on Thursday 4/2 for an emergency motion that Josh filed (well, his mommy filled it out and he signed it). It is for the court to make visitation arrangements because, according to this document they filled out, Eliza is keeping him from seeing the baby and plans to move him out of state. Hah! He has not even showed up on our doorstep and asked to see the baby! But, he'd have to drive 30 miles and they just can't afford the gas. They expect Eliza to call them, arrange a visit AND transport back and forth so that they can see him I guess? All this while he still is not supporting them! Ugh.... Or, as a favorite cartoon character says, "Oh, the humanity!" LOL If I wanted to see my child, then I would haul my lazy ass out there to see him--whether his mom approved at first or not! At least I could tell the court that I tried and she refused! Instead, he can tell the judge, "well, your honor, I sat at my mommy's house and Eliza never brought the baby to see me....." Yeah, that is going to go over well! And, as for the moving out of state part, he got this somehow from us talking 2 or 3 mos ago about maybe going to Florida over spring break to see my mom who STILL has not seen her only great grandbaby despite buying him a crib, a stroller, a car seat, a playpen, clothes, and more! Josh's mom and step dad had given him a used baby swing someone gave them and just barely kept him in diapers while they lived with them. I had to pay for diapers more than once in order for him to have enough!

I'm already sick of this situation. My hubby is sick of it and worried that she'll get too stressed and it cause her problems with her classes. Hubby is also worried that if she feels in jeopardy of things going wrong that she'll go back to him to save some trouble. But, deep in my heart, I feel she's got her head screwed on right (finally!) after 2 years time. And, I think she's just upset enough at the way he's done her to follow through and make him pay. There are some illicit behaviors on his part that have apparently been going on behind the scenes for quite some time... We'll see what the judge thinks of those when it comes time to decide the custody situation--on top of the unhealthy living conditions and the total lack of financial support!

SO, with all that said, you can still wonder why I haven't posted????? Well, I just finished a third round of antibiotics for this crud I had in my chest and head... I did a 10 day round of 875 mg amoxicillin. Then, about a week later, I did a 10 day round of Doxycyline. Just about the time I finished those, I was starting to feel a bit better, but went downhill quickly afterwards. SO, another week or two go by and I am really sick again. Back to the doctor. I told him that with each round of meds, just as I reached the end and started to feel better, I was done. And, I really think it is the malabsorption keeping the meds from working to the maximum expectations. I asked him to prescribe something strong for a longer period of time and he gave me a 3 week round of Bactrim and said, "You better start getting the yogurt in!" LOL Now, as I finished this round, I truly feel better already. I didn't take that last pill thinking, well, so much for that! I really feel like I may finally kick this thing! Doc wanted to xray my sinuses and make sure there's no blockage there keeping me from healing. I decided to wait and see what happened with this round of meds and go from there. If I don't get sick again in the next week or so, I'll consider myself healed!

Oh, and I need to review those Maine Cottage Foods no-sugar chocolate bars. Those things ROCK!!
More later!!
Lea