Best to Worst

... and working on back again.

Three years ago, I was in the best shape of my life.  I was running everyday, eating right, playing basketball regularly, and even ran the Des Moines marathon.  Today, I think I'm in the worst shape I have ever been in.  I don't think I could run a quarter of a mile without having to stop and walk.

That is the best to worst part.  Now, it's time for the "and back again".

Thanks to Lindsey, I have started eating right again.  In the first three days, I have lost five and half punds, and I am looking forward to getting back to where I was.  I know that it is going to take a lot more than just eating correctly. It is also going to take some serious amounts of excercise.  Finding the time to be able to do this is going to be the most difficult part.  However, with Lindsey by my side trying to do the same thing, I am hoping it is a journey that we will be able to take and accomplish together while having lots of fun getting there along the way.

Wish us luck!

UNO

In reading through past posts, I noticed that I mentioned Andrew leaving us for college this fall.  I am happy to say that this is no longer the case as Andrew will be remaining with us and attending UNO.  He still has a little bit of work to do in regards to orientation, scheduling classes, and figuring out the finances for it, but I'm sure it will all come together in time for him to attend this fall.

It would have been really difficult for Carter and Emily to not have him around anymore.  They need as much stability in their lives as we can provide right now, so this was a welcomed change to the plans for 2012. 

Engaged

A few posts back in "A New Year", I stated that one of the planned changes in my life that was on the horizon was a change in marital status.  However, I also stated that in order for that to happen, I needed to get a fiance first.  Well, I am happy to report that the first step is now complete and Lindsey has agreed to fulfill that role.

At this point, it looks like the second half of this (actually getting married), won't happen until sometime next summer.  This will allow both of us time to do the planning and get things ready.  We also wanted to allow a little extra time to let the little ones get used to the idea.  However, Haylee is very excited and her enthusiasm has been helping to win Emily over on the idea.  I have to admit, I am also really looking forward to being able to look down and see a ring on my finger as well.

Time Out

After eating ribs the other night, we cleaned up the table and sat down to watch a little tv.  When I later came back to the kitchen to get myself something to drink, this is what I found:

Yep... puppy had decided that he would like to have the left over ribs now in the trash for his dinner.  Andrew decided that he needed to be put in timeout for his behavior.  However, being as it isn't possible to simply put him in the corner and tell him to stay... this is what he came up with:

Goals

I stated in my last post that I intended to stay focused on the goals in front of me.  However, what are those goals?  In order to be able to stay focused on them, I need to know what they are.  Therefore, I decided to take a few minutes to jot down my top short term goals.

1. Be the best dad I can be - this is a short term goal that has a longer term goal in mind.  The longer term goal being to get full custody of my yougest two children. 
2. Get moved and settled into the new house - This is very short term at this point as we are supposed to be taking posession in just over two weeks.  So this item definately needs some focus over the next couple of weeks, or we simply won't be ready when moving day comes.
3. Be the best me I can be - I know, a bit generic.  However, if I focus on being the best me I can be, I feel that other things will fall in place and through this other smaller, more specific goals, can be achieved. 

By focusing on these simple things, I will accomplish things like getting in better shape, losing some weight, being nice to those around me, and who knows, maybe even get the chance to be a husband again and gain a couple step children in addition to getting full custody of my own.

Forward

There are many things and people in my past that have led me to where I am today.  However, if I I am moving forward and always looking backwards to the past, I will not be able to see where I am going.  Worse yet, if I focus too much on the past and concentrate on it, I think my direction might change towards it.  Isn't it human nature to move in the direction you're facing?

Therefore, I will keep my focus on the goals that lie in fron of me.  Just like Lewis Robinson, I intend to "Keep moving forward".

Custody

I have heard horror stories when it comes to custody battles, and with my ex-wife, I was positive that if I ever filed to have full custody, she would do everything possible to make all of those horror stories look like a children's fairy tale in comparison.  However, do to the events over the last couple of months, I am planning on doing just that.  I will be filing for full custody.

There are still several hoops that I will have to jump through in order to even be able to file.  However, I am now confident that not only will I be able to file, but I am also confident that I will be able to win without the long drawn out process and huge battles in and out of court.  At least I hope and pray that this is the case.

I have had temporary custody of the kids for a little over a month now, and having them back in my life has been amazing.  I will admit that there are some difficulties to overcome, but I love being faced with these challenges.  I no longer get as much sleep as I used to and the house is messier, but it is not only filled with more clothes on the floor and art projects everywhere, it is also filled with more smiles, laughter and love, and I plan on doing everything I can to make sure it stays that way.

New Hotness

It may not be the same one we were originally looking at, but he seems to like it and it gets him from A to B.  There was another one that we were going to look at that I think would have been a really good deal and probably lasted a bit longer than what I expect this one will.  However, when we went to go see it, it was sold litterally five minutes before we got there.  Oh well, I guess this little Pontiac Sunfire is now officially part of our family.  Hopefully, it will be with us longer than Old and Busted was.

Old and Busted

Well, that is the name Andrew has given this wonderful little hunk of junk that has stranded him on his way to school at least four times now.  The good news is that there is currently no worries that it will die on him while he is on his way to school.  The bad news is that this is because of the fact that it won't start.

In the short period of time he has had the car, we have already spent a couple hundred dollars in maintenance, and there are numerous other items that need to be fixed.  That is, would need to be fixed if the car actually ran.  Being as it does not run, there is not really any immediate need to fix anything.

Due to the amount it would cost to get "old and busted" back into working condition, we are looking to find "new hotness" for Andrew.  Sorry for the naming, but it is from a scene from MIB II that Andrew has taken to use as naming for his vehicles.  I'm not sure this "new hotness" would ever be the star of any showroom floor, but for the moment, it is the car that Andrew has his eye on and I think we are going to go take it for a test drive tonight.  If all goes well, maybe Andrew and the kids will have some reliable transportation to get them to and from school, hotness or not.

A New Year

Well, the new year has begun, and it is promising to bring with it lots of new things.

At the top of the list of new things has to be the fact that my youngest two little ones are now living with us.  Currently, this is only a temporary thing while my ex tries to work out some personal issues.  However, we are hoping to make them permanent residents of Omaha, and have already started the initial paperwork to make this happen.

The second item on the list is that it is once again time to move.  We had moved into a smaller place in order to save money.  However, now that we have a total of seven people living in a two bedroom apartment, I believe a move is definitely in order.  We already signed the lease and will be moving in just over a month.  I'm not exactly looking forward to the move itself, but I am definitely looking forward to having the extra space once we are there.

Along with the new house and having the kids, we will also be needing some new beds so everyone will have a place to sleep and call their own.  These are the ones that we have picked out for the boys, and of course there will be a matching dresser to go with them.

Other new items that 2012 will bring include the fact that Andrew will be leaving us for college.  Right now, he is wanting to go to the University of Iowa, so that will be a big adjustment for everyone as we will not get to see him too often with him being that far away.  Although I will be sad to see him go, I wish him well and hope that he does well and gains everything he needs while away and hope that once he is done that maybe he will decide to find employment a little closer to home.

The final item on the horizon for 2012 is a change in marital status.  Although technically I am pretty sure that I need to have a fiance before this can happen, I am looking forward to everything the new year has to offer, and I am hoping that this item will be among the list of changes.