Mistakes in Motherhood

The more I think about it, the more irritated I am about the phone call from BM. Not because what was said, but because what was not said; it has been almost 4 years since the last time she spoke to Austin on the phone. For 6 months I would call her so she could talk to Austin and she never returned my calls. She never attempted to write/email/call or talk to Austin at all about the adoption. She does not owe us a thing, but I do think Austin should at least get a simple explanation. I am not angry, or bitter about the past, I just don’t understand how people can let so many years pass by without a phone call, and then casually talk to them as if they have always been there.

Maybe I am being sensitive or overly critical, but I guess I am kind of hesitant to trust that the psychological head games will not resume if she starts contacting on a regular basis. On the other hand, I think after going so long without a relationship with someone, it may be best to just let sleeping dogs lie. I guess if it does not hurt Austin I will try to get past it, but I also have not had a chance to talk to him about how it made him feel. If he was not bothered we will allow it in the future as long as she doesn’t start back into old habits. If it did bother him I will put my foot down and ask her not to call.

1 Comment | In: Uncategorized | tags: Austin, Ramblings, Ranting. | #

With all the buzz about online scammers, hackers, malicious programs, keylogging programs, etc., it is nice to know that there are ways to protect your files and increase your data security. One of these programs came from a surprising source, PKWARE, the makers of the program PKZIP that I used for a great number of years and is the only zip/unzip program that comes to mind.

The newest zip program, SecureZIP is a very simple download, and for a limited time can be downloaded for free; this is the full version, not a trial version. Secure Zip encrypts and compresses files for fast and secure transfer, this program is great for business projects, sensitive files that may have personal information like a social security number or banking information, or anything that you would not want to fall into the wrong hands. This data security program is also great for protecting your own personal files stored on your hard drives, portable media, or laptops. SecureZIP – The next generation of ZIP.

Within two minutes of submitting my email address, SecureZip was downloaded and two minutes later was registered and up and running. The program is easy to use and is also integrated into Outlook Express which makes it super simple to email encrypted files. You also want to check out SecureZIP’s impressive review over at PC Magazine.com, they made 4 1/2 marks out of five marks, and have great raves.

Check this program out, it is a great asset in total data security.

No Comments | In: A lot about nothing, Geek Speak | tags: Something Worth Mentioning, Sponsored, Technology. | #

Today is Austin’s birthday, he is now 11. My god he is getting old! He was so funny this morning because I asked him how he felt and he replied “I feel ooooold”, you know because 11 is almost a senior citizen and all!

He had a nice day, after school he went to Taekwondo; their Master likes kids to come on their birthday, he gives them birthday spankings with the kicking paddles. As he was walking in the door he got a call from Grandpa (my dad) to wish him a happy birthday, then from his grandma (Bobby’s mother). After TWD we went out to the restaurant he chose, Red Lobster, where we all enjoyed a family meal. Austin got crab legs, Christopher got chicken fingers, Matthew got macaroni & cheese, and Bobby and I got crab, lobster & shrimp plates. Austin and Chris got smoothies too, so they will thrilled.

During dinner the phone rang, and Bobby almost did not answer it because we were eating, but he did not recognize the area code, so he stepped out to answer and it was Austin’s birth mother. She wanted to let Bobby know that she was late mailing Austin’s birthday card and asked if she could wish him a happy birthday. Bobby agreed and gave Austin the phone. Here is what I heard:

“Good”
“Thank you”
“Good, I am a green belt now”
“Eating dinner”
“Love you too, bye”

And that was that, maybe 60 seconds total. She then spoke with me for a few minutes about some pictures I asked if she could take to get scanned for me to have copies since I have almost no pictures of Austin as a baby. She stated it would a few weeks before she could get them because she needed her husband to go with her and she won’t have a babysitter for a few weeks.

When we got home he opened his presents; he is really into Star Wars, so we got him a new light saber, a nice Anakin Skywalker figurine for his dresser (the boys got new dressers over the weekend that were delivered this weekend, real wood), a Pirates of the Carribean chess set, some Yu-Gi-Oh cards, some cars, etc. We are also giving him his favorite gift, cash, to spend this weekend.

After gifts, Grandma (my mom) called to wish him a happy birthday and they got to talk for a while even though his attention was probably on the light saber. The kids all finally went to bed around 10:30; I could not believe how late they stayed up!

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Austin, Family, Holidays. | #