The two victims' families contacted police Wednesday after the girls told their parents and grandparents of the allegations. After an initial investigation by district officers, four investigators from the child abuse unit were sent to talk to the girls and their families.

"Because it was a private babysitting facility, we felt that this was something we needed to deal with sooner rather than later," said child abuse unit Staff Sgt. Leah Barber. (news)

Nope, you didn't miss the post.  I'm not pregnant.

Today I am babysitting Leila, a friend's little girl, for the entire day while they head down to London.  She'll be with us until around 10 PM.

I am so excited.  I adore little babies!

Of course, I know that it will be an adjustment to fit a baby into our routine.  But I am rather excited by the challenge.

It's good practice (hopefully) if nothing else!

#238

I've been a terrible cousin of late: my decamp to D'dee meant that I was no longer 'just down the road' for impromptu babysitting of  W and K. I hadn't even seen either of them since Christmas (They said it had been,'Years and Years!': I like to encourage their love of the dramatic) I happened to be at 'home- home' on the afternoon Uncle J phoned to need a babysitter: Mum and I were able to organise ourselves to allow  'Mummy and Daddy' to go to a wedding.

I'd forgotten how much I love spending time with them both: how comical and innocent their view of the world is and how affectionate they both can be: K with her knee snuggling and endless desire to be cuddled; W in a much more reserved and serious way that makes his hugs moments of fleeting pleasure.

I thought Kung Fu Panda was WICK!

#239

An early start as Mum had to work and W and K were still at her house...way too much Scooby Doo (I was never a fan) but some lovely art work/ colouring in; and a great story about a sheep dog but it was high time for some serious playtime...

S and P had invited me for 'cocktails' this could have meant half the world would be at their place; or that the that I would be expected to party until dawn at some obscure club; instead it was my favourite third option: drinks and endless giggling at their place; just the three of us.

The cocktails were to die for (although P's measuring was OVERgenerous) and the unveiling of the chocolate fondue fountain to belatedly celebrate my birthday was made all the more splendid by my acquiring a brand new handbag as well. It had been too long since I'd spent 'real' time with these warm, loving and truly witty guys. The giggling was no doubt 'spirit fuelled' but the affection real...

#240

 A late brunch and a decision to brave the North Coast, we walked the very crowded Portstewart strand, S won an absolute fortune in 'Phil's of Portrush' and I introduced the boys to the splendor that is Ramore Wine Bar (initially a  bad idea: given the fact that neither of them have any patience and have a need to be treated like Princesses by wait staff: but the true glory of Ramore cooking made listening to the tantrums worth it).

And yet even as the Atlantic Coast's greatest applauder today's moments were found during the journey: S had given me a pamphlet to read by a charity called Soulforce; its esteemed writer Rev/Dr Mel White wrote with insight, simplicity and knowledge about the complex and difficult issue of the bible and homosexuality. I know that his words had brought S closer to a point of re-finding a faith he constantly seeks; and it helped me; the spiritually ignorant, find important answers.

#241

We were unwilling to relinquish our holiday feeling...and decided to make use of P's familial connections; he is the son of a farmer whose diversification project was a caravan/campsite over looking a lake. We spent a fortune buying bubbly and barbecue food before we left: the view alone worth a lottery win.

I also got to meet P's Mum: a character in so many of his stories and one that has been considerably undersold.

Lily: you were right caravaning was the bliss you promised it would be: I see wheels and maps and various sunsets in my future.

#242

Our "romantic" row-boat trip upon the lake was funny only in the retelling: a choppy lake and reluctant rowers are not the stuff of Mills and Boon.

It was time to call it a day; time to re-discover the feel of my own bed; time to give P and S their relationship back. Home to unpack, have a bath, catch up on 'my' programmes through the pleasures of 4oD (and therefore to cry through 'my' first 'Civil Partnership Ceremony' on Brothers and Sisters)and to Rupert Penry Jones on the cover of this week's Radio Times.  Life is good.

It's been acting weird for a few days now.  But yesterday I just lost complete confidence in it.  It disconnected...bah, at least 5 times while I was on msn talking to my friend?  And then the last time it just disconnected and didn't re-connect.  So I basically just ditched the crap out of my friends and minus the one who knew about my internet's issues, they were prolly all like "WTFBITCH".  Even he must've been a little "OMGZ?" though.
:|
UNRELIABLE PIECE OF--

Sunshine!  Its really nice out today :)  So I'll prolly go do somethin with Claro at some point soon... after i take my shower and all that... yeahhh...

p.s. Sam and I are playing Kane & Lynch co-op.  AND ITS SERIOUSLY FRIKEN FUN.  Oh god.  Hahahaha we already got a shitload of achievements too:  47 headshots (thats alwasy fun) and alot of kills with the shotgun (aka my weapon of choice followed by the semi-auto sniper.) oh and we got more I jsut don't remember.
<3

I hope the internet works later today too :'( cause I'm kinda suprised that its working right now.

My editor sent me an assignment to cover on Wednesday. Then the mom whose kids I babysit needed me Wednesday and Friday, and the times conflicted on Wednesday. I had to say no to babysitting because I had already made a commitment to cover the story. The mom rearranged her schedule and definitely needs me Friday.

The real problem arose when my editor gave me another assignment to cover on - of course - Friday. The times conflicted, but now I must honor my commitment to babysitting.

Believe me that it hurt to have to send that e-mail turning down the assignment to my editor.

However I did make sure to explain to her that even though I originally told her I would treat freelancing like a job, I needed to take on babysitting for extra cash for gas.

I told my mother a few months ago we can't pay as much for her to babysit as we had been. We pay her what we can - about $7/hour and she works 30 hours a week which is all we can afford. I have an alternative to employ my husbands cousin who is 13 for $5/hour - since we are here all the time anyway she would be more an entertainment person and we would be around for her at all times for security - no solo babysitting.

Today my Dad took me aside and asked for $15/week additional for gas money to drive my mother here and home. My mother chose to stop driving a while back and never mentioned this gas issue, as we can gladly pick her up. I guess I just don't think they actually believe we have no money. I had to forgo milk again this week to just get some supplies to keep us going.

So all tolled I will be paying my parents $800 a month to babysit - which if it was an outside babysitter is not bad for 30 hours a week - or 120 hours a month. But being it is my own mother, who has a fixed income already that they can live on, I just can't figure out why they keep pushing me for more and more money when I'm sinking faster and faster.

Add on to this my loss of time in bringing in business from health issues - I'm feeling so exposed today for some reason. The talk with my Dad just put me over the top.... I feel so useless when I don't have the money to do the right thing. Paying them gas money is the right thing - isn't it? What do other grandparents do when they babysit? Do they charge? I'm at a loss.

All I can do is pray the things we have in our plan (short, medium and long term) pan out. I'm going so many different directions hoping one of these things hits. I can't afford to pick 1 or 2 paths and cross my fingers it pans out. If it doesn't I find I'm back to square one every time and losing time.

Crazy that I posted two days in a row, but the steriods are making me crazy with energy. I feel like I can't get enough done even going to bed at 2am and waking at 5am. Nuts but I'm not even tired!

Oh as if there is not enough on our plates. Our cat is extremely sick, so we had to spent at least a little to get her treated - the kids so love her, and she is our responsibility. AND my husband's identity has been compromised - talk about getting kicked when you are down! I've spent the entire afternoon yesterday driving cats to the vet, and the entire afternoon today canceling ATM cards and reporting fraud. Now I have to call the police! (does it ever end?)

One of these days I just want to type the words - WE ARE FINE - the financial situation and the medical situations are 100% under control and the blog can end....

I can honestly see that trying to work at home while taking care of two toddlers is almost next to impossible. There's a window of about 3 hours where I was able to get some decent work done each day, but outside of that it's hit and miss. And the thought of working at the kitchen table each day while keeping an eye on the kids out of the corner of my eye simply doesn't work on a longterm basis. Kids want attention, to go outside, to play, to eat, to interact, and of course they need a diaper change regularly.

I know pundits constantly think moms at home have all this time on their hands to get work done and they could be so much more productive if they put their mind to it. Let's just say I didn't get any laundry done and only managed to keep the sink fairly clean the whole weekend.

So, yes internet consulting opens up a lot of opportunities for stay-at-home types, but don't fool yourself. Motherhood is definitely a full-time job in itself. Don't believe me? I've got two kids you can spend the weekend with!

We overhauled our office/second bedroom into 'their room.' We moved David's computer and such into our bedroom and dolled up the futon and added a bookshelf, dresser and toys to their room. We just rearranged furniture we had and didn't have to buy anything new. It's very hodpodge and mismatched - but it works!

They girl's are 3 & 4, so we've had fun buying girly things for them. I'm already the nerdy person who has tons of toys in her house even tho she doesn't have kids yet - so I didn't have to buy too many more toys for them. The toys I do have are all from the thrift store or garage sales. I also picked up some clothes for them, also from garage sales and thrift stores. And I put together a 'kids arts & crafts' box for them - and they've loved creating things! I love kids and playing with them - so I've had a ball having them stay with us.

Some of the things we spend our time doing:

• Playing outside (the tree outside our house became their 'home')
• Go swimming (we have an indoor swim pool at our apt!)
• Flying kites (with David...not usually much wind so just involves David running as fast as he can so the kite will fly and too little girls running after him)
• Watering my plants outside (they love this, I got them their own watering cans)
• Playing t-ball with David (75 cents for 2 bats and a ball at garage sales!)
• Sidewalk chalk
• Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles!
• Riding the bus (kids under 5 are free!)
• Going to the Farmer's Market (they heard about the mini donuts, and that's the only thing they ever want now)
• Going to the Library
• Going to Children's Museum
• Playing with Mr. Potato head and gang
• Playing Chutes and Ladders
• Playing Tetris Towers 'board' game (they just put the pieces in it, not really play)
• Read and Read and Read books!
• Sing songs! a lot!
• Torment the "Giant" (aka David) by chanting "Giant come Here!" over and over again until he chases them and they run screaming
• Snack breaks - they'll eat anything on a stick (toothpicks!) - I made pineapple/watermelon/blueberry fruit skewers and they loved it
• Playing with Photobooth on David's computer
• Transforming a cardboard box into a home for their (beanie baby) bunnies!
• Watching Dora episodes (I found a DVD at a garage sale, and like the short episodes to limit their time watching - we probably only watch a movie/episode once every 2-3 days)
• Playing "house" where David is sometimes the "mama" or the "baby"
• Helping me mix up Pancakes for breakfast - they love to help me stir!
• Playdates with my friend Kayla and her little ones
• Pray - not only do we pray before we eat and before bed - they like to 'pretend' pray all the time too, lol, it's pretty comical the prayers they pray - sometimes I am doing all I can not to bust out laughing!
• Do my hair - a lot - they like to brush and barrette and brush and pull and make me leave it in no matter what!

And much much more that I can't think of now...but our days have been filled with fun! Of course, it's not all fun and games, and I have much more respect for people who blog and have kids - how do you ever do it?? Or my friends who will put their kids to bed, then come hang out, etc. Once I get them to bed - I'm ready to get in bed myself - I'm so tired! And even though we weren't buying plastics, we did pick up some plastic sippy cups - though I made sure they were #5s and we have had to resort to some not as healthy meals with them around - but it's harder because they're not used to our food - so that would take a while. But I do have them trying all different fruits/veggies to see what they like - I was surprised they like green beans and broccoli! Go figure!

And I've been very impressed with how helpful David has been. He has been really great with the girls - and said he's not afraid to have kids, even girl's, now. And I can see what my friends are talking about when they said that having kids made marriage much more difficult. It's not that we had anything happen - I can just see how fast you just talk about "the kids" and don't talk about anything else - lol - cause there's always so many funny stories to tell! Or you don't get any time to yourselves, so when would you! After this I feel much more inclined to babysit for my friends with kids so they can have a date night once in a while!

I must say, meeting these little girls and having them apart of our lives - makes it much more difficult for me to move! I want to stay and play with them some more - and be apart of their lives. But I know I can't control what happens in their lives - and I'm trying to just pray for them and let God take care of them - but it's so hard.

today, the math goes: 8yr old + 1 yr old + (3 yr. old*2) + teenager + me = x. the break down is 4 females (this count includes me) and two 3 yr old boys. somehow i think this is a formula for some type of disaster. so here's my gameplan...

1. i've misappropriated a 24"x32" chart pad from my office. and to salve my conscience i have to keep in mind that no one has used it in almost 2 years.

2. i have a plethora (a jefe plethora) of arts and crafts supplies that haven't been used since i moved into my box-sized apartment. i will liberate them from bins. everything from popsicle sticks to finger paints to foam stickers to crayons and clay.

3. everyone gets smocks (AKA my old tshirts)

4. free for all on the patio

5. once it's cool enough to take little people out in the evening sun, we swim.

6. arm floaties for the toddler boys, my girlchild is like a sturgeon and needs no support, and the squishy baby will hang like a koala at my side.

7. stay in the pool until water fatigue is making them all exhausted.

8. baths, movie, snacks, bed time. I WIN.

now what to do about dinner. my son only eats hot dogs lately, so diagonally sliced hebrew nationals for him and his compadre. for me and the ladies, including the squishy but cheeky ms. baby i'll be babysitting for the first time, chicken and veggies. i think she has enough teeth to manage poultry. and if not, she gets eggs and fruit. kids will eat eggs at any time of day. fruit, too.

off i go. prepared for nothing to work out as i've planned. but OPTIMISTIC.

Not that my life is all sitting around on couches.  In fact, my dad and I went and walk, jog, ran tonight which continues the streak of regular nightly exercise my family has as of lately taken to doing.  The funny thing is that we're sticking to it, and not only are we exercising but eating really great as well!  I havn't had any sort of soda or caffeine in a few weeks now, and besides that no sugary grossness or gluten filled glutteny.  And I've lost five pounds!!  So that's like five pounds off of my freshman twenty!  I'm the proper freshman fifteen now!!  I'm a statistic woo hoo!

Speaking of statistics I'm taking that class next semester and boy am I ever ready to get back to beautiful Oklahoma State!  My roommate and I are literally calling eachother everyday now gabbing about how we are so excited to head back.  Head back for school that is, not rush.  I am dreading rush.  And I don't care how many people give me a lecture about having a good attitude and enjoying it despite that fact that it totally sucks!!  Don't get me wrong I love my sisters, but I hate organized girl time and rush is organized girl time olympics.  Don't believe me?  Well here's a little taste.

Rush consists of the two weeks before school starts for us.  The first week is "spirit week" where every girl in my house moves into the house (about 120 girls in a house built for 60 plus a good amount of alumni and parents) and we do all sorts of "fun" activities such as learning and singing songs, practicing walking up and down stairs in formations, have countless "practice" conversations with older girls and alumni who try their best to be the worst possible girl you could ever talk to during rush, and sit through presentations teaching us how to have good conversations (remember never talk about the 5 B's!  Bush (politics), Bible (religion), Booze (drinking and partying), Bank (money), Boys (self explanatory)).  We clean and decorate the house, practice for the skit, move furniture, dress up each day to a theme (come on girls!  monday is spice girl day so dress up and some lucky person will get a cool prize!), and play "fun" sisterly bonding games.  OH! And to top it all off no girls are allowed to leave the house during these two weeks.  And don't even get me started on rush week!  We go to bed super late, get up super early, talk to group after group of girls one right after the other for hours, have to look cute at all times, and did I mention have a good attitude?  I know I sound completely pessimistic, and I'm sure it won't be horrible because I really do love my sisters but compare it to going through all of that with your own family.  That is what it's like, except that these girls are not my family and don't have to like me so I really have to be nice to them.  SCHOOL PLEASE COME SOON!!!

Aww well what can you do.  I really am enjoying the remaining time in my summer.  I'll just be happy when my biggest story of the day is something bigger than getting a free drink at Starbucks because the line was really long, or when I havn't seen every episode of Two and A Half Men because I don't have time for tv, or when it's 11:30 at night like it is now and I'm not the only one awake.  Keep on dreaming Tessa:)

P.S. Hey mom guess what!  That beautiful iPhone you purchased for $400 is now half the price and twice as fast!!!  Just thought I'd let you know in case you hadn't heard ;)

Has the cash economy swallowed up your life? Here are some ways to extract some of your time and "life energy" from the cash economy.

Reduce debt. If you can't pay cash, don't buy it. Practice being mindful about what you buy and why.

Do it yourself. Grow food, pick berries, can and preserve food, make wine, bake bread. Make or repair clothes, furniture, and gifts. Create your own entertainment. Walk, bike, run, or play basketball instead of joining a fitness club.

Share & Exchange. Take care of neighbor kids and elders. Play music, sing, act in local theater, write poems, hold art shows. Exchange haircuts for applesauce, bike repair for massage, language tutoring for babysitting.

Reduce waste & pollution. Weatherize your home or apartment. Reduce your car usage, or get rid of a car.

Buy local. Run buy-local campaigns, print stickers, publish or post a directory of local businesses. Acknowledge business owners who foster the well-being of the environment, employees, and the whole community. Convert public funds from luring outside corporations to supporting local businesses.

Start a new local business. Start a food market, credit union, wifi network, or even an electricity co-op. Explore ownership options like cooperatives, nonprofits, for-profits, or single proprietorships.

Buy Fair Traded when you buy imports. Vote with your dollar for a better world for all.

I spent most of my workday in a meeting today. Not a whole lot to say about that, except that I've got a huge learning curve ahead of me.

Jonathan was hired to babysit a neighbor/church member's kid yesterday evening and tonight. He said it went pretty well. I was almost home (after swinging by Pizza Hut to pick up our traditional Wednesday supper) when Va called me. She wanted to know if I was almost home or if Jonathan would have to come up with a non-pizza supper on his own before he left. As I said though, I was almost home. I dropped the large pizza at the house and ferried Jonathan to the neighbor's place, as he ate in the car. When we got there we found that his services were not required after all. The husband thought the wife called to cancel, and the wife though the husband did. As we were driving home it started to pour, which was a bit of a bummer for me.

I had left an apple core on my tracking station last night and forgot to check for tracks this morning. I was planning to check it when I got home, but the rain washed away any tracks. There may not have been any anyhow though, because the apple was still there. I may sneak out in a little bit and re-smooth the dirt. Maybe I'll have some bear tracks in the morning.

Anyway, this weekend were babysitting for my Aunt Rhonda, b/c its her anniversary. It will be fun to chill with my cousins david and Leah and spend some time with them.  My sister is also coming down and were celebating my nephew's first birthday, YAY!!! WE got him some really cool books that make noise. We hear he is into things that light up and make noise right now. Anyway, Crazy stuff is going on in my life and I finally got a pocket calander to keep track of everything since my ginormous calander woin't fit into any purse I own.

D's sleeping in my bed, she's such a cutie. I love that little sister of mine.. Sometimes, i wonder how she's gonna handle the fucked up world she's been brought into, i wonder if she'd be better of in a more funtionnal family..Then i remind myself, theres no such thing as a functionnal family, and she's been put in my family, so, i'm going to make sure she's not affected the same way i am. I'm her big sister, and i intend to be the best sister in the world for this 3year old angel.. Still find it a little weird that i'll be 17 and she's just 3. lol.. Nevertheless, i love her. And i always will. A sister bond is something special, it doesn't compare to anything else.

Well, i've got my appointement for my test results on my ulcer and my heart tomorrow at 930am. We'll find out if i do have an ulcer, and hopefully they'll know what's wrong with my heart.. I've braced myself for the absoloute worst, that way, if it's not the worst, then i'll be able to handle it, and if it is, well, it's expected.

Anyhow, i gave my auntie the link to my blog today..Don't know how i feel about that. Part of the point of havign a blog is that, well, it's yours. Something you don't share with the people you normally share your life with. But, then again, i completely trust my auntie, and she wants to undrstand, and i want her to.. Theres no way she'll  completely understand ofcourse, these are only words, but, it'll atleast give her something.. Well, i don't feel violated yet (lol), so, hopefulyl this is a good thing.

I'm really starting to miss L&B, havn't heard from them in a while..Well, hopefully i do soon. All i can say. Hope they're doing alright.

Going to go finish my movie..Nothing like one of those stupid comedies that you can only watch once to finish up an alright day. (balls of fury to be more exact,lol)

P.S: Stuck to my contract again tonight. Had super, one slice of pizza was all i'd allow myself, but, it's still supper..And, woohoo, no purging today. Keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow, i'm already starting to loose my control on this, gonna try to stick it out for one more day atleast.

Sigh ... she is fine, and was fine but she has a flair for the dramatic side.  I think folks appreciate even more how much work she can be lol and if she has her own feelings and opinions on how things should go.

And Anna -- oh she appreciates her mommy even more LOL!

love

anna's mom

This past weekend, and even week, was a great one, even though I had to say farewell to one of my buddies for awhile. Tuesday night S got back from Florida :-) (ironic, one leaves and one comes back to me) and on Wednesday he and I met up with N and L. We went to see Wall-E and got some Cold Stone. The movie was cute, and the ice cream was good, too. My favorite combination is a Like It cotton candy ice cream with marshmallows and rainbow sprinkle mix-ins. L kept doing the Wall-E voice, too, and I must say she was pretty good at it! She also thought the new milkshakes at Cold Stone were called Nerr-guys because the poster said NrGize. Takes her awhile ;-) haha.

Thursday night, the start of my Fourth of July weekend and N's last night in Jersey until August 1st :-( , we all went to Friendly's and ordered the Crowd Pleaser. For those of you who don't know, the Crowd Pleaser is a 12 scoop sundae, 6 toppings not including whipped cream and cherries. It was both disgusting and delicious. Someone had the bright idea to order maple walnut (or something equally as weird) and it was gross!! It tainted all of the flavors around it. I can't remember all of the flavors we ordered, but some of them were: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, black raspberry (S), chocolate chip cookie dough (L), coffee (N), forbidden chocolate, mint chocolate chip (Me), cookies 'n' cream, and butter crunch (equally as gross as maple walnut). It was a plethora of colors and flavors. Then we realized N was sick so we wouldn't let him touch certain areas with his spoon. That lasted about 2 seconds and resulted in a mini-ice cream war. L literally tried to steal a cookie dough chunk off my spoon as I was raising it to my mouth. Bunch of wild animals! Afterwards we went back to my house and watched Family Guy until N departed for good. Bye N, have fun and be safe! And bring me back a baby koala!

Sadly, I did not get to watch said fireworks this year. The weather was too crappy to see them on Friday, and fighting the shoobie traffic in order to see hazy, foggy lights is not worth it. Plus, it started raining around 9:00. I hate rain! I had a really nice day, anyway. I slept in until about 12. I went over to visit my buddy J, who FINALLY decided to come home for a weekend. I ate dinner with my family, and afterward headed over to S's for the night. We hung out outside around the pool for a little with his family. They gave me apple pie with vanilla ice cream, which made up for the rain and missed fireworks :-) . Later we just basically relaxed the rest of the night. It was very nice fourth of July.

On Saturday I got up early (well, 10:30) and went shopping and got all of S's birthday stuff done (yay)! - S's birthday is on Friday!! can't wait!! - That night I babysat for these 3 little adorable girls. It was great because everyone else I babysit is a boy, so Saturday I got to take a trip down memory lane and play Barbie and Pretty, Pretty Princess and color. It reminded me of the good old days when life was easier and I didn't have to pay for gas. All that was needed was an easy bake oven! Plus I got to watch the Disney Channel again, which I have no excuse to do anymore even though I secretly want to (yeah Suite Life!). And I got free Rita's and they paid me some gas money on top of my rate. All in all, a pretty productive night!

Sunday I spent the day at S's, just relaxing in/around the pool. I had dinner there, and then S and I watched Hellboy - one of S's early birthday presents!! :-)  We have been wanting to see it for awhile now, ever since we saw the trailer for Hellboy II. It was pretty good, a lot different than I expected. Better than I expected, actually (I think the sequel looks even better). The DVD came with a free ticket to go see Hancock, which we will be doing tonight! We go to see a lot of movies... maybe it's unhealthy, but I don't care! I go to the gym everyday and work 9-5 so that justifies it.

As you can probably tell, I am getting pretty excited for S's birthday weekend and celebration week! Probably more excited than him, haha! I have a surprise on July 19th for him, and he can't figure it out yet, and it's great!! I can't wait! He'll never guess it.

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