Oh the DRAMA!

So much for resolutions!  I had the best of intentions about this blog, and then life got in the way.  First week back at school, I had my seat crew work to do.  Not a big deal, but still less free time for me.  On a side note, KIDS REALLY TEAR UP SCHOOL BUSSES... I don't know why some kids think they can draw giant pictures of men's genitalia, or write some of the profanity I have seen written on seats.  Or rip, tear, pick, or stab a seat with a pencil 100's of times.  They would never do that crap in their parents cars.

So as soon as that week was over, I had a minor incident with a light pole.  Nothing serious, just a headache of drug testing.  But as soon as that was over, I got served with custody papers from Co-Co's dad.  He is 11 years old and we haven't seen a dime of support from him since he was 2.  He never even put his name on the birth certificate.  I have had an active case open with Child Support Enforcement since 2004.  They have not been able to locate him.  Then WHAMMO!  out of the blue he wants to get 50/50 custody, pay no child support, and have his name put on the birth certificate without a DNA test.

I of course am less than thrilled.  It comes out now that my FAMILY has been hanging out with him and getting free tattoos from him for years now.  But no one could speak up and say where he lived.  And my DS didn't even know that his step dad wasn't his Bio Dad.  That was an interesting conversation to say the least.

So my last 10 days or so have been spent interviewing lawyers to see who I liked and who could do what I want them to do, etc.  Begging my parents to loan me the money for the retainer (of course the putz filed right after we splurged and blew the Emergency Fund on Christmas presents).  And as luck would have it, my parents have an IRS thing that they are dealing with, so they just dropped 10 grand on a tax attorney.  So I am tapped out, but stuck trying to figure out how to come up with a retainer to get some legal representation during all of this.

I have been emotionally drained.  I wonder at times if keeping the putz away from my DS was the right thing to do, but then I am reminded of the physical violence that the relationship had, and although it wasn't directly aimed at my son, it was done in a way that my son was witness to it, or could have been a victim of it as an innocent bystander.  So I know I did the right thing.  Now if I can get a lawyer to help me convince a judge of the same thing.

I also bid for and got a new bus route.  Goodbye 51!  Hello 117!  It's a good bump in hours so that is nice, but it will be all new kids to learn and a whole new area to learn to drive.  I hope that it goes well.

I have briefly thought about some of the tools that I will be using to get my life on track as a grownup.  LOL!  I am a grownup but BOY would it be nice to have a safety net of cash to fall back on, or to be more organized.  One of the things I have seen is the 52 week Money Challenge.

It's a pretty simple concept really... you just start with $1 and add $1 to the total deposit each week... and you make the deposit and not touch it for a whole year and end up saving $1378 in a year.  I know the idea is saving some money each week and this is a funish way to do it.  My only hangup right now is that the December weeks (the last 4 or 5 of the year) you have to depost about $50 a week.  I get paid every other week and with 4 kids living at home now and 1 living at her mother's house it is an expensive holiday season for me.... that's 5 kids Christmas gifts, PLUS 2 birthdays in December alone for me.  I don't think I can save $50 a week.  Or $100 out of every check.

I have seen some people do it backwards, which is easier, but still rough for me right now with the need to pay the lawyers retainer.  I am giving it some thought about how to stagger the payments to work with my bi monthly payday's and my family finances.  I will let you know what kind of savings plan I come up with.  But I think my best bet is going to be working the keep the change savings plans, and the $5 plan, in conjunction with this one.

And as scandalous as it sounds, I would need to do this behind Big Daddy Woo Woo's back.  He is a hoarder and a spendaholic, but in a cheap way.  He will spend a few dollars at every thrift store and garage sale in the neighborhood if he knew we had the 'extra' money somewhere.  Saving money isn't his way.  I know he wants to get a house, or a 2nd vehicle, or even a motorcycle, but I am more on the school of thought that we should have a backup fund and get out of debt before we get MORE debt, expenses, and stuff.  Maybe that is why we are such a good balance with one another.... we both can go to extremes but they are separate extremes.