It's been quite a week.

Christmas was pretty fun. J has decided he likes puppies (good thing, since we did get two - more on that momentarily). He chased Kevin's parents' dog to the point that she started running away when she saw him. LOL And one of my step-relatives (I've got a ton) brought her little chihuahua to my dad's house, and J chased after that - "here, doggie, come here, doggie"! LOL It was nice to get to spend Christmas Day with my family (step-family and all) - it's been a long time since I was able to do that, and even longer since I was able to do it without stress (K and my dad didn't get along, and K never did particularly warm up to the step-family - I think of them as mine just because their mom married my dad, but he didn't see it that way). J got far too many presents, and I got some nice things, too, even though my dryer was my big present. I got some smell-good stuff (Amarige, yummy!), two really pretty candleholders, a Target gift card, and lots of fun things in my stocking. J had a very Bob the Builder Christmas - lots of Bob Legos, a talking Scrambler and talking Travis, and a host of other things. (Including a huge box of crayons - I have K's mom to thank for that, I'll be calling when J tries them out on the cabinets!)

It was sort of a bittersweet Christmas, knowing this was the last true "family" Christmas with K's parents. I'm sure it baffles them that K and I can get along so well, drive across the country for Christmas and all, but don't feel like we can stay married. But I know from my point of view, I could never trust K's feelings for me again if we had decided to try to fix the marriage - he didn't set out looking for a romantic relationship, but fell into one (well, not a relationship, necessarily, since the feelings were never actively returned - although I'd eat my hat if she didn't feel the same about K as he felt about her - but inappropriate feelings for someone not his wife), and didn't back away from it when he realized those feelings were developing. I'm not waiting for that shoe to drop again. So that's my biggest reason for getting out of my marriage. And if K isn't happy being married to me, I'd never want to make him stay - that's just asking for misery down the road. So I'm sorry the divorce will upset K's parents, but it's not my job to make them happy. (And no, no comments were made during Christmas - it was just a nice visit.)

I filed the divorce papers yesterday. Today I'll mail the waiver of citation that K has signed, and once the court has gotten that, I can call for a hearing date. We have to take a co-parenting class before things can be finalized. That's not a problem, though, since I reckon we're better off in that department than a lot of people getting divorced are. So it's kind of mind-boggling to think that in two or three months, I could really be a free woman again. What a way to start off 2006, huh? :) Here's to good things in the new year.

And yes, we have puppies! K and I talked, and we both think it's a good thing for J to have animals, so he's helping with the costs. He's even offered to come over on Friday night, sleep on the couch, and get up with J and/or puppies should they need attention so I can get some sleep. :) (I'm telling you, we get along better as friends than as spouses!) And the puppies are cute. Lots of work right now, and sometimes it's a challenge wrangling both puppies and boy. But J is so excited about them, I couldn't take them back (the woman I got them from said they would take the puppies back if it didn't work out - nice option to have, but I'm trying to think long-term here). He's still getting used to them, but overall he's excited about them. We've named them Bonnie and Clyde. I should have named Clyde "Houdini", since he can get out of most everything. And Bonnie is still small enough to slip under the gate between the kitchen and living room, so I've got heavy things in front of the gate. I'll get something set up outside, with shelter, so they can play outside during the day while we're gone. Their first vet appointment is next Wed., Jan. 4, for shots and worming. Bonnie has more of the schnauzer look, and Clyde looks more like a terrier. They're pretty good about sleeping - they settled down in their beds when I started turning the lights down last night, and I didn't hear a peep from them until 5:50 this morning (J woke up at 5:40, and I think they heard us talking). It helps that they're used to sleeping together, and I think it helps that there are two of them - they can keep each other company. It's tiring, but I think we'll all adjust OK. And they won't be puppies forever. I'll post pics when I get some good ones taken.

I have a lot of J funnies to share from the trip, but I'll have to do that later - after being out of the office for a couple of days, I am slammed with work. AACK.