This weekend has been an adventure. Dh painted my kitchen and Madison’s bedroom for Valentine’s day and the two younger children were home for the long President’s Day weekend. Long weekend’s are rare in our stepfamily, for with a natural dad out of state, any three day event is planned for a trip to see him. However, this weekend, their natural father is planning for his wedding next weekend and the children will attend, so two weekends in a row would be hard on them with a six hour drive each way to get there. We have had special meals and lots of baking along with the painting and decluttering work. It’s making a difference! Weekends for blended families can be really tricky. Very often the custody mom or dad see very little of the children during the school week and then weekends are often somewhere else altogether. My children used to spend 1,3,5th weekends somewhere else, when I was teaching all day and doing the parent routine at night, they went to bed at 8:00 p.m. when they were younger, we didn’t even get home from my school until 4:30 or 5, so there was little “play” time for us during the week and they were gone most weekends! You would think having custody means you have alot of time, but real life takes alot of that time away!
Our family has chosen the path of least strife where holidays are concerned. For many years the children have spent every Christmas eve and day with their dad’s family because there is a huge group of family gathered there. We’ve not made the children choose where to be, but set it up where Easter, they are with my family or home, because that’s when my family gathers. Some Christmases we are together at their grandparents.
This week I’ll be driving the children to their father’s wedding town, spending the night with their grandparents (at their request), then spending the wedding weekend with friends in a nearby town in a hotel, so the bride and groom do not have to plan a 12 hour drive in their honeymoon weekend. Ludicrous some people would say, but truth is, I’m happy for their dad, and wish the best for both of them. My children are my priority, and helping them have a less stressful weekend when their Dad is getting remarried is important to me. One way to help make that happen is to transport them myself so those who are busy rushing to put together the wedding aren’t having to do a 12 hour trip with children at such a frazzled time.
Chase and three friends went to the river today and took pictures of each other in their dress clothes from church, I love that these teenage girls could get him to go and take pictures…so many were great, and he’d never of done those for me….”awwww mommm….not pictures” The power of sixteen year old girls!
Today I’ve got four teenagers and one tween at the house enjoying movies, lasanga, and cream cheese brownies…its been a day to enjoy my children at home….God is good! Church was awesome!
God is good!
