Yay!!!!

So I don't have a lot to say- just that Andrei's mom called tonight to talk to Luis about Andrei staying with us for this upcoming school year. If you've been following my blog/life you'll know what a big deal this is for us.
Andrei's mom is not a bad mother, but definitely not a hands-on mom. I have a lot more time to spare and a much less pressing social agenda, so I think he generally does better with us- again not because I'm necessarily a *better* parent than his biological mom but more because I'm simply there all the time (like ALL the time) for him. He's there ALL the time for me, too, which is nice. I highly suggest (moms or moms-to-be out there) that if you don't have at least one son you look in to it. It's AWESOME. I've missed him so much this summer while he's spent the time in NYC with his maternal grandmother -it's terribly lonely around here without someone bugging me 24/7, but we all felt it would be good to give ourselves a break after this school year what with the daily commute to Point of the Mountain, and all the drama at school... plus he's barely met his Abuelita Germania so we thought it would be good to build some connections with that side of his family.
Anyway, as you may know last year Andrei "lived" with his mom but went to school in Provo. That meant driving him to and from West Jordan daily, which just about killed everyone in the process. By the end, we were all so tired he actually spent weeks at a time at our house, but that was stressful, too, because we often had no warning or schedule as to when he'd be here or there- just a phone call at 7 saying to bring him, or no phone call at all signaling that he was to stay with us. He was constantly stressed out not knowing if "[his] mommy wants to see him today," or not.
It was decided that in order to avoid the stress this year, he would attend school in Sandy (did you catch that? Mom lives in West Jordan but the schools there all SUCK and are year-round, so she found a nice school somewhat near to her work and was just going to use a friend's address for registration), and then drive a few blocks after school to stay at a Boy's and Girl's club until his mom gets off at 7.
Jerly called tonight and said she really didn't feel good about this arrangement because a) she'd have to take off work to drive him from school to the B&G Club daily, b) she'd have to return 3 hours later to get him c) he would be *highly* unsupervised during most of that time which usually means he goes off into his own world and wanders around aimlessly for hours at a time d) he'd only have an hour or so after getting picked up from the B&G club to do homework, eat dinner, and bathe before bed and e) his school there starts at 8:30, but she doesn't start work until 10:00, but the school is on the opposite side of town near her work, which causes a huge transportation problem and f) she's considering starting her own business and isn't sure what she's going to be able to deal with anyway.
All things considered, she's thinking that since we have good schools in Provo that he's attended before, he has friends, family, a stable and nurturing home, reliable after-school programs, and since I get off work at 3:15 anyway that perhaps staying with us might *possibly* be better for him than jumping through all sorts of hoops in order to allow him to continue staying with her while still attending a non-scary school.
Of course I'm ecstatic about this because I adore him and he does great in school as long as he's overnighting with us. Also, as much as I want him to have a strong, caring relationship with his mom, she gets off work so late that he barely sees her during the week anyway (from 7-10 pm M-Thurs nights). Aside from bed-time, she really doesn't get to parent him at all. I think that by switching her to the weekend shift she'll actually get much better *quality* time with her, even if the quantity isn't quite as much. They can go to zoos, parks, movies, friends' houses, parties, etc., and if there is a big event here we can always request an extra day so he doesn't have to miss out.
My only real hesitation is the fact that she, although a baptized member of the church, doesn't practice any religion at all nor attend any church. He'll basically be missing church meetings until whenever. I think, though, that if we focus on family scripture study, FHE, and scouting (that's right- he'll be 8 in less than a year!) he can still continue growing up with a strong religious background which is important to all of us (mom included).
So this was supposed to be a short post and now it's turning into a novel. I guess I'll stop here. Anyway, I'm really excited, and we still have to hammer out all the details and nothing's official, and knowing her she could change her mind the minute he steps off the plane from New York and she realizes how much she's missed him... but so far it's looking like she'll drop him off for school Monday a.m. and he'll stay with us until we drop him off in SLC on Friday night. That way overnights stay pretty much equal and nobody has to pay anybody child support, and costs will be split equally (we pay for insurance, she pays for school supplies, sports teams, and clothes).
I'll keep you updated when final details are decided upon.