HE SPEAKS

So it seems Dominik's speech therapy and being in daycare full time is helping. Last night out of no where he pointed to a banana and said nana and he also put two words together and said "oh no". He's slowly coming along so I am excited for him. We are in our new house now and everything is almost put away. We are really enjoying our own place again and the location is awesome, right across from the police station.
Tomorrow I am taking Dom to the park where they are having an Easter Egg hunt so hopefully he will enjoy that. I won't be able to post any pics for awhile though because I don't have internet hooked up at my house yet. I want to see if I can afford it after I get my first water and power bills. Hopefully I can so I can get that cable/internet package. It's pretty boring watching Disney movies on DVD all night long.
Other than that, just STILL working and STILL going to school. Oh, and I'm hoping to win the lottery someday soon so I can pay off all my bills that I was stuck with. =0)
Hope you all have a great Easter weekend!!

I'm So Excited!!

Well, I bet you are all wondering why I'm so excited. It's because on Wed, April 1st I get to move into my own place, and Dominik too of course. We are renting a big 2 bedroom, 2 bath house with custom cabinets and closets, all appliances, garage, and gas fireplace. It's really beautiful inside and only $600 per month. My favorite part is the 2 closets in my bedroom, one with a built in girlie vanity. Any of you are welcome to visit anytime for a tour. The downside is I have to pay for water and stuff, but hopefully it won't be too costly with just the two of us there. Also, Dom will start going to daycare full time but I think it will be good for him. He always has fun now with the other little boys and maybe it will help him with his speech. I applied for some free daycare money through a National Guard program so I should know if I qualify within the next week or two. Let's hope I do so I'm not completely broke each month! I guess that's all my big news for now. Dominik is doing great and is as sweet as always. I will get some pics posted of the new place soon so you can all be jealous. haha, just kidding.

SNEAKY DOM

So today Dominik cracked me up and once again showed me how smart he is. For breakfast I gave him some oatmeal and a mandarin orange which he normally loves, but for some reason he didn't want it this morning. Later in the morning he found a little bag of cookies that he kept bringing me to open. I kept telling him he needs to eat his orange first instead of so much junk food. Well he ate 1 slice and then the bowl and the rest of the orange disappeared. He again brought me the cookies as if to say he ate all of his orange. Well I found the bowl of oranges sitting behind the chair "hiding." I told him again to eat them so he took the bowl and disappeared for a minute. He again came back empty handed but still wanting his cookies. I asked him what he did with the orange and only got a look of innocence. I went down stairs into the kitchen and found the orange.



My sneaky little boy thought he could make his orange go away by putting it down the garbage disposal. I have to hand it to him though, he did a good job throwing each piece into the sink and then strategically placed the bowl next to the sink. Nice try angel!

I'M FREE!!

So this morning I had my final session of divorce court. Juan failed to show up 3 times so the judge granted me my divorce and full custody of Dominik. I'm so thankful that I can raise my son to be a respectful, loving, kind human being who can contribute to society in a positive manner. I really feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted off of me now that that's over. The assault trial is still in the future, but as long as Juan is behind bars, I feel safe. I'm so thankful to all of you who helped me through this difficult time and thanks for helping me with Dominik when you can. I know I will need to depend on some of you in the future when I have to go away for work so I hope I'm doing right by my baby boy. The Guard allows me to support him and takes care of us both when we're sick, so I guess it's worth it.
In other news, I turned 29 on Mar 9th. I can't believe I am in my last year of 20's and then the BIG 30 hits. It just doesn't seem like I can possibly be that old? Where has the time gone? It's crazy how it flies by faster and faster as you get older. The good part about me aging though is I really feel like I'm wiser (just as the saying goes). I am able to forgive people who have hurt me and I am not so quick to judge others whom I consider to have made bad decisions or have a completely different lifestyle that I may not agree with. I like that about myself and I have even noticed that I can calmy talk to a person no matter how angry I am.
Ok, what else. I will be moving into my own home soon so Dom and I will have our privacy back and we will quit driving my mom and Doug crazy. No, we don't do that, but it's still nice to have your own privacy. If any of you are in town, you will have to visit and see the place. You're invited anytime!!!
Other than that, speech therapy and daycare seem to be helping with Dom's speech. He says more, mine, why, and bye really well along with the stuff he said before. Slowly, but surely he's coming along and he is one of the sweetest little boys ever. He gives his daycare friends and workers hugs as we leave and anytime my mom or Doug leaves he gives them hugs and kisses. He even blows kisses to the dead animals hanging on the wall before bed. He's getting more and more awesome as he grows up. Oh, and last measurements at his 2 yr check up are weight-25 lbs and height-34". The Dr. said his height is average for his age, but he's small weight wise. There's no issue with that, but he's a lean, mean fighting machine.
Anyhow, I will get some pics taken of him this weekend and post them up since I know that's the real reason you all look at my blog. =0)

WHY??

I'm not going to name any names in this instance, but today I have to question how people can be so cruel to those they claim to love? I'm not only talking about 1 person in my thoughts, but a couple different ones. I can't possibly explain how completely tired I am of always being the person to put out the effort whether it's for a relationship or a friendship. I don't know why it is so difficult for someone to be courteous enough to let you know how they're doing or send a quick reply to an email they received from me, but apparently it's extremely difficult and time consuming beyond my comprehension. It's not like I have all day, every day to get a hold of people and keep in touch, but I at least make a genuine effort.
Today I want to make a vow to myself that I will try my best to keep... I will no longer give my love, time and energy to those who don't appreciate it or return it. That saying nice people finish last has some truth behind it because we allow others to take us for granted and to get away with doing whatever they want because they know they will be forgiven for it later on. I will still forgive, but I will not forget and I won't allow myself to fall into that trap again. If I'm that important to people, they can make the effort to be a part of my life as well. I'm done with pain, tears and feeling sorry for myself. No More!! And thank you to my best friend Krista who has always been there through thick and thin and to ALL of my family. None of you have ever treated me the way I described above so thank you for that. I hope one day I can be here for you if any of you ever need anything.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOMINIK!!

Today is my little boy's birthday. I can't believe he is already 2, but then again, I can't believe I will be 29 in 2 weeks. One more year to enjoy my 20's. Anyhow, back to Dominik. We celebrated his birthday on Sat at Smoky Mountain Pizza. It was a good time and Dominik loved seeing everyone and of course getting gifts. That John Deer tractor was from Grandma and Grandpa Thompson, Auntie Vena, and Uncle Tony. Once he saw that it wasn't a giant monster about to eat him, he started driving that thing around like a mad man. He would clap every time he crashed and wanted to drive some more. Grandpa Don has been taking him out to the yard to drive all over the place. It even has a little trailer that can be hooked up and judging from the pics I received via text, Dominik is having a blast and won't want to come back home. In case you don't know what I mean by that, he is staying at his grandparents house for a few days as we had planned because I was supposed to be in OR this week; that was cancelled.

Anyhow, Dominik was spoiled as usual but we all seemed to have a great time. He's one awesome little boy and I look forward to seeing him grow up over many years. Oh, and one more update, now that he's 2, he qualifies for free speech therapy, so hopefully he will start talking more like he's supposed to. Next Monday is his first appointment so we will see how it goes!

I'M TOO YOUNG

Well, I think many of you know that I found out I have arthritis in my spine. When I think of arthritis, I think of grandparents, not a 28 year old woman like myself. I definitely contribute the lack of cartilage and the presence of swelling and bone spurs to the 12 years I have spent in the military. All the heavy lifting and heavy equipment I've had to wear really did a number on me. My doctor recommended physical therapy to strengthen my back and hopefully relieve some of the pain so I said o.k., anything to ease this aggravating daily pain. At my first appointment I learned a lot of things and it's no wonder my back hurts almost all of the time. Not only do I have arthritis, but the left side of my hip is higher than the right and get this.... my thoracic and lumbar spine are rotated to the right. Hmmm... how that happened I don't know but it sucks. The muscle and tissues in the left side of my back are so tight that my physical therapists were even suprised. Now I have to do all these wonderful exercises and I get deep tissue rubs mixed with ultrasound therapy. Since all of that started, my back hurts even more. I guess it's not used to being forced into sitting the way it should be. Who knows what the deal is, but hopefully all this therapy will make it feel better. I'm not even 30 yet, so if this keeps up I'll have the body of a 60 year old in no time.
Ok, enough about that. Dominik got seen by the Health and Welfare folks for his speech issue. They said he's definitely behind on his communication skills so someone will be working with him to improve that. The good news is that he is way ahead on his motor skills such as walking stairs, jumping, stacking blocks etc. I know he's really a smarty pants and understands everything you say, he just doesn't want to talk for some reason. Last night they taught him how to sign "more" with his hands. He picked up on it right away and now does it when he wants more snacks or whatever. It's so darn cute!! I plan on teaching him a couple more signs and then hopefully he'll be talking soon.
Other than that, work and school and motherhood are keeping me extremely busy, so I haven't done anything fun or interesting. I guess I'll get ready for work tomorrow. Later!