Woohoo - new template! :) Redoing all the links and stuff is a pain in the ass, though. Heh.

My mother is really getting on Darrell's and my nerves. I am such a wuss, I feel bad about feeling irritated with her. I've got to get this shit under control. I wonder if there is any self-help books on how to stop feeling guilty. Heh. Darrell has just about had it, he's about ready to tell her she can't stay here any longer. She's just really different than she used to be. I guess I remember when I lived at home, how she kept things clean - she was really anal about it, like I am. Heh. Since she's been staying with us though, she's just gotten more and more lazy. I do not mind picking up after my kids and my husband, to a certain extent. Of course, I'm not their maid and they don't treat me like one, but I do the basic cleanup as far as mopping, bathrooms, laundry, cooking, etc. And I'm fine with that. Darrell and I have more traditional roles within our marriage, and that works for us. But, I would expect that Mom -- staying with us for an indefinite amount of time -- would pitch in more and help out.

We are feeling like we are being taken advantage of. She's working with Richard's mother, for five freaking dollars an hour. Hell, she could work a minimum wage job and make more than that! I think that she's continuing to work with her so that she can keep tabs on what Richard is doing. I think if they talked, she'd be right back with him. And to be honest, I kinda wish that would happen, just so she'd be gone. We bought a mobile home that needed a little work. We didn't buy it FOR her, but we told her she could stay there. She's completely went in and took it over, like it belongs to her. She wants to pay back the money that we paid for it, and it be hers. We are absolutely NOT interested in doing that. For one thing, we got it for a steal, and if we sold it we'd want to make money on it. Secondly, it's really in better condition than our home is in, as far as floors and walls and stuff goes, and we'd actually like to build some rooms on and move into it ourselves. The only reason we offered to let her stay there instead is because she needed a place to live, and that place only has two bedrooms at the moment. Since we bought it she's really changed though. She's over there all the time, she's not helping me do any of the housework, laundry, cleaning up after supper, cooking, etc. She started cleaning on it and moving stuff into it before we even had blocks under it. Darrell just got it re-plumbed last week (it had to have all new pipes throughout). It doesn't have permanent electricity, hell - it doesn't even have septic in it yet! We have bills to pay here and things to do here, and we can't afford to do it all in one whack. And yet, she's staying over there already these past few days. She's waiting until midnight to come over here and get her something to eat, take a shower, use the bathroom, etc. She woke me up two nights ago in the kitchen, and Darrell said last night she scared the shit out of him, coming in at midnight. How irritating is that?

Then tonight, Richard's daughter Chasity called and asked for Mom. I had Hunter take the phone over there to her, and next thing I know she's back asking me if she can use my car. She needs to go to *another town* to pick Chasity up, because she went over there to a graduation and didn't have any way back home. It would not surprise me in the least to find out that Chasity went over there knowing she didn't have a way back and planned to call Mom and sucker her into coming and getting her all along. She *knows* mom doesn't have a car, that it'd be my car she'd use, but she didn't even mention it to me when I answered the phone. I should have said no, she couldn't use my car, but I'm a sucker too, I guess. Darrell is really pissed off about it, especially with gas prices the way they are lately. He told me not to let her use the car for anything like that again, which I can't blame him. I really feel the same way, I guess I was just caught off guard.

So, this will probably be the end of a good relationship with my Mom. I told Darrell tonight that I have been really surprised by how this has been going. I certainly did not expect for things to go this way. I guess she's just changed and not living with her, I haven't noticed it as clearly. Oh, this isn't going to be pretty. :-/