Party time!

We had a GREAT day!! Veronica really enjoyed her party. Best of all, no rain! We got some stormy looking clouds and a tiny bit of rain, but then it cleared up. Yay!! The kids had so much fun in the bounce house. The parents too! I was so busy enjoying myself, I completely forgot to hand out the party favor toys I had. Ugh! Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated Veronica's special day!!


The cake - it wasn't my best, wasn't my worst, but it could have been better:

Bouncy bouncy!

The bounce house rental company called. I figured they were calling to confirm for Saturday ~ wrong! They wanted to know if it would be a problem if they delivered the bounce house early. As in today. How silly is it that I was actually excited about an extra day for free!! They got here about noon today and aren't picking it up until tomorrow at dark. Practically two fun filled days of jumping for the price of one! Val and Roni had a great time jumping in it today.

I finished Veronica's cake. It didn't come out as good as I would have liked. Definitely not my best. Not my worst either. But it will have to do.

Party starts at 11:00am tomorrow! Hope the rain holds off....

(still waiting for a response from those non-RSVP-ers. But I'm not holding my breath!!)

Pics to come....

Two is right around the corner

One week from today my "baby" will be two years old! When did this happen? Where has the time gone?! Her party is Saturday. It is looking like rain - boo! Here's hoping it holds off for a few hours during the party. I started her cake today and I don't know if it's the weather or WHAT! But it did not cooperate. It's being difficult ~ just like Roni!! If I had more time I'd toss it and start over. I'll make it work though. We invited about 35 people, but I haven't a clue exactly who is coming and who isn't. I have no idea how much food or how many drinks we need. Is RSVPing really that complicated?!

Parade day!

I decided to brave the crowds and take the Girls to the parade today by myself. I parked in the mall parking lot. Opened the door and put my foot on the ground. There, right at my toe, was a shiny penny. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.


Anyway, the kids did great over all. I was a little unsure about taking them by myself. I kept Roni strapped in the stroller and Val always stays close by anyway. We were having a pretty good time -- until about float number ten. Out of no where, a wayward frisbee flew right at Val and managed to cut her face in two places. Awfully close to her eye too. It was windy, so it wasn't aimed at us. The same thing happened last year. We got pelted with huge bags of beads and both kids got smacked. Hard. I wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper complaining about how hard that stuff is thrown. Getting hit today pretty much crushed Val's spirit, so we called it quits. We went back to the mall, had lunch, and I got the kids some candy while waiting for the parade to finish.

IF we go back Tuesday, we are going to stand way in the back and just watch!!

And good night!

Valerie was tinkering around on the piano today. Roni was banging right along too, so I wasn't paying much attention to it. All of a sudden, Valerie starts calling for me. She wanted to show me something:

Needless to say, I was pretty surprised and impressed! She plunked out the tune all by herself. The second one is a song that she made up and sings/plays all the time.

Valerie had her four year old well visit today. I put it off for a few months since I knew school would want the same general health form and immunization card filled out by her pediatrician. Which by the way Val is all signed up for 4 year old preschoolnext year!! All went well, over all. Valerie is off the charts on height (surprise) at almost 44" tall. She's in the 90 something percentile for weight at 42 lbs. Val was all giggly at the eye test and the hearing test. I don't think she really understood the purpose, so she thought it was a game! Then came the shots. Those darn shots!! One in her left arm, one in her right arm, and another in her thigh. It's quite different holding down a hefty child compared to a baby!! Not fun at all. Val screamed and cried and screamed some more. Poor little girl! Once it was over, she calmed down rather quickly.

For a treat, we then spent a few hours at the mall. The kids rode the quarter rides. We had Chick-Fila for lunch, and I even traded in the kiddie meal toys for ice cream! Valerie got three new dresses and Veronica got one. They are all set for spring/summer now, except for sandals. I even picked up a few things on clearance for next fall.

Clint went back to work yesterday. It sure was nice having him home for seven days. I just don't like the idea of the seven days away. He'll be staying at my Dad's since it cuts 30 minutes off of his drive. Halliburton isn't too keen on paying for housing at the moment, so Clint and another guy is being forced to drive 100 miles+/- back and forth. Ridiculous... and unsafe if you ask me. I guess it is good in some ways he can go stay with my Dad. It gives my Dad company for a few hours a day and Clint can get a little more sleep.

I need to get crackin'!! Veronica's 2nd birthday party is right around the corner and I'm "busy" procrastinating!!

Parade day!

Our anniversary was nice and quiet. I cooked dinner and we stayed home. Amazingly, the kids went to bed extra early with out much protesting! Clint and I actually had a few hours to ourselves with no crying, no whining, and no fighting. Just us and a very quiet house! I think that was the nicest part of our day.

Yesterday we went to our first Mardi Gras parade of the season. It may be the only one we go to this year. Clint will be working for all the others, and I don't know if I'm brave enough to venture out with both kids by myself! We'll see. Maybe we'll go to the Morgan City parades instead, although they are pretty lame compared to the ones here.

I found three pennies at the parade. One walking from the parking lot to the parade route, and two on the way back after it was over. Maybe that meant my Mom came to the parade with us and sent us pennies from heaven. She loved the parades.

One of the best Mardi Gras parades I ever went to was with my Mom. I actually told her the story a day or two before she died. I was talking to her about funny things, happy times, so she'd leave this world with good memories. As I talked about it, she rolled toward me and gave me a half smile. She heard me. She remembered.

I was in my early or mid 20s. It was Mardi Gras day. And it was cold and raining. We wanted to go to the parade so bad. The only time I had missed Mardi Gras at that point was when I was in the hospital with pneumonia at age six!! We debated and decided we were going to the parade no matter what!! We grabbed our rain gear and drove to Houma. Crowds were sparse due to the weather. I remember clear as day cursing the stupid people out in the rain for a parade!! Ourselves included!! LOL! My mom kept saying "look at all these fools out here!!!" And we'd laugh because we were fools too!! We laughed at the other people and they were probably laughing at us. We stood on the side of the road by the mall in our plastic rain ponchos with our umbrellas. We waved and yelled and jumped up and down at the floats. And laughed and laughed and laughed. Laughed hysterically until we cried. It was ridiculous. Two grown women out in such dreary weather to catch beads and trinkets. I think we left before the second parade started. I guess we got something to eat and maybe went to a few stores. I don't remember that part! By then the sky had cleared up and the sun was peeking out. As we were getting in the car about to head home, we somehow came up with the idea to go find the parade again!! We headed downtown and caught it right at the end. And wowza, did we catch some beads. It was completely nuts. And so fun. My Mom said over and over that was the best Mardi Gras and the most fun we'd ever had at a parade. Nothing ever topped it.

She was so fun and silly sometimes.

I miss her so much.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

It was 2003 when we took that walk down the aisle. Hard to believe it has been six years already!! Six great years.... here we are, a house and two kids later, what more could I ask for??

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful Husband!!!

XOXOXOXO

oh no not again!!!

Valerie is suddenly very sick!! She was a little sluggish this afternoon, but she wanted to go to dance class by all means. She wouldn't eat any supper. Her face was flushed, and she felt warm, but kept saying she was freezing. Her temp was ok, so off to class she went. They got Valentine treats tonight so she was thrilled. On the way home, she started crying her belly hurt. And she was so cold.... her temp is 101.4 now. And she threw up the Motrin I gave her. Chills. Fever. Vomiting. This is exactly how the flu started last year AT THE VERY same time!! It was a week before Valentine's. And we ALL ended up catching it and we ALL were very, very sick for a month!! At least we all got flu shots this year, so if we do catch it hopefully that will keep it from being as bad. Hopefully.

The House Fairy

So we now have a House Fairy. I showed Valerie the sample videos and she went nuts! One of them says to go pick up 5 things right then. Val ran to her room and did it! I asked her if she wanted the House Fairy to add her to her appointment book. Yes yes! We probably spent an hour looking at the videos and photos of clean rooms. With a little help from me, that evening Val straightened up her room just in case the House Fairy was coming. In the morning, Val got up for school and wanted to clean up some more! And she even wanted me to help her fix her bed pretty. *in shock* So while she was gone, the Fairy left her two chocolate hearts on her pillow. Veronica got some too, because it isn't fair to leave her out even though she doesn't quite grasp the concept.

Yesterday was a different story! Valerie's room had gotten a bit untidy again. And she didn't seem interested in picking up a thing. While we were at the gym, the Fairy visited and left a piece of paper with a big sad face drawn on it. Valerie did not like that at all!!! She talked about it all afternoon. She did not like that she didn't get a treat. Once again, we picked up her room. Later on, we went into Roni's room to find the Fairy had come back and there on Roni's pillow was a heart candy. Poor Valerie!! Her face just crumbled and she burst into tears crying that she didn't get anything. The Fairy didn't bring her a surprise. "Why I didn't get nothing? I cleaned my room!!" she sobbed. I felt *so* bad!!! She looked so hurt!! I played it off and led them to Valerie's room where the Fairy had left a candy and some stickers on her bed. Whew!! It was all better once she realized she DID get a surprise too!!

I wonder how long I can keep this up!! So far Valerie has helped me clean up and do everything I ask her to because the House Fairy might stop by. Her room is far from spotless, but it is a big improvement. I haven't decided if I will get a paid membership over at The House Fairy site yet. It would be neat to have more videos to show Valerie as she keeps asking to see her. (She also wants to give the Fairy a big hug when she comes to see her room.) For now I'm going to coast and see if I need further reinforcement later on!

Stuff

Clint was off for 7 days, which was so nice! We did a lot around the house in a week. But today it was back to work for another 14 days. He decided he can't handle working 12 hours and driving so far back home. I tried telling him that last year when he first started talking about this new job, but he assured me he could do it and he would be home every night. That lasted a week. He booked a hotel room for this hitch. I can't say I blame him, but I don't like him being away. I don't like that I have no choice. I guess I need to accept the fact that we will eventually be forced to move to Lafayette. I don't like this new schedule one bit. I dread being alone for two weeks at a time. It's just so exhausting.

Veronica has just about given up her afternoon naps. Yikes, I am not ready for her to do that!! I don't remember exactly when Val gave hers up. It was much later than this. Roni isn't even two yet!! I used her nap time to get housework done - mopping and other things that are difficult to do with her underfoot. Now I have to work around her... fun fun!

We also switched Roni's crib to a toddler bed. I was hoping she would sleep better/easier in it. Every time we tell her it's night night time, she goes to Valerie's room. She wants in Valerie's bed, too! Bedtime is such a struggle with her. I've got to find a better routine. Especially since I'm doing it by myself most of the time now.

I went to my Dad's today. I really would like to clean up his house and declutter. My Mom had ever closet, every shelf, every cabinet, every space you can imagine filled with stuff. Just an unimaginable amount of stuff. We can't figure out why she had some of it or where it came from. Some of it she had just in case. Some of it were gifts given to her. Things she saved for later. But later will never come now. It's so sad to see all of the things she had and never got to use. I plan to give away what I can on freecycle, but it is SO MUCH. It will have to be done one pile, one box at a time and it will take months if not years. I just need to find the courage and motivation to get started.

Six Months

Six Months. Half a year. It seems like it has been an eternity, yet how can it be six months already??


I've really been dreading this half-year mark.


So much has happened, so much has changed, so much my Mom missed. So many times that we missed her.


I still find myself thinking of random things I want to ask or tell her.


And every now and then the sinking feeling creeps up on me and the thought comes to mind - My Mom Is Dead. It really happened. It just didn't seem like it was something she'd do -- die. At least, not this soon.


It's odd how the triggers come and go at the strangest times. Driving down the road, something will come to me... and the tears start again. Or I'll see someone who resembles her. Or with a shirt on that was her style...


I wish that lady at the gym would stop telling me stories about her grandkids. They call her MeMe. She goes on and on about the cute things her granddaughter says and does and how much she loves to visit. My girls don't have a MeMe anymore. I don't want to hear her stories. My girls will never have any more stories.


Every so often, Valerie will tell me me she's sad. When I ask why, "I miss MeMe."


Those that "get it" seem few and far between. I hear "Oh I know how you feel, my Aunt/mawmaw/cousin/uncle/neighbor etc. died." No, sorry, it's not the same as losing a parent. Especially your Mom.

I can still picture her in my mind, happy, smiling. I can still hear her voice. I hope that never goes away.


I wish I could have good dreams about her. In every dream I have about her, she is sick or dying. Or there is something mysteriously wrong. Then I wake up with the pain in my heart.

I am just so sad that she is not here.

I miss her so much. Every day.