Pulling it together

I haven't been much on blogging this month simply because I haven't felt like it.  I love this blog - it is our family account and the closest I will ever get to a diary.  But with Bean passing away I still feel like we are trying to pick up the pieces and it seems wrong for me to just jump right into happy posts (although in hindsight it might have been more therapeutic - I have been stuck in some serious funks and I bet blogging would've helped.)  So in an attempt to get back to normal and try to relish how awesome our life really is (and to make Bean happy b/c I know for a fact she is getting tired of looking down from her cloud and seeing a bummed out Mommy) here is what we've been up to the past couple weeks.

 A couple weekends ago we took Jack and Lucy to Ripley's Aquarium.  Jack went when he was 1 1/2 but time around was WAY more fun for him.  He got such a kick out of all the different creatures and we ended up watching Finding Nemo for the next week.

 Mimi went with us to join in all the underwater fun.  Lucy had a blast pointing out all the freaky fish to her as evidenced in the bottom right picture :)

Jack and the squishies

I have this in the collage but love this one the most.  Lucy's face is to die for here.

 The glassed-in tunnel where the sharks swim over you.  Awesome for Jack, terrifying for me.

Finding Jackman

Lucy was such a trooper and made it through the entire exhibit without a fuss.  Then we stopped at Mellow Mushroom on the way out of town and she passed out on me in the booth.  Not that I mind - she turns one in just a few days and I know these instances are numbered!

 The week that school was supposed to start back turned out to be subarctic temps so I got 3 snow days! (once again, this was The Fat looking out for me.  She knew I couldn't handle work just two days after she passed away so she worked her magic with God and managed to get us some extra time off - you're welcome Knox County.) I used this time off(along with daycare for the Goose) to take Jackman on a Mommy and Me date!  That involved Chick Fil A...

And Frozen!  Jack is really starting to like movies and I'm really starting to love how much Pixar and Disney cater to my need for clever, lovable dialogue and characters. Confession:  Jack had already seen Frozen with his Mimi.  But I really wanted to see a movie with him and the only option was this lame Walking with Dinosaurs thing which i knew he'd probably like but I'd be bored with.  So I made him see Frozen twice. My punishment?  We have now listened to the Frozen soundtrack to the point where both of us can sing it by heart.  And you know what?  Do You Want to Build a Snowman is the most depressing Disney song ever.

I have to put this in the blog simply b/c it shows that no matter what I think about his development, Jack is still 3.  On the way home from school, he kept grabbing Lucy's sleeve and pulling her arm out of it-thinking it was funny even though she was screaming in protest.  So Jack tried to show her that it wasn't so bad by doing it himself.  Then his arm got stuck and he couldn't get it back in his sleeve thanks to the car seat harness.  I had to hang up on my phone call with Melissa b/c his cries were too hilarious/pitiful for me to hear.  For the next 7 minutes I drove home to this face.  The best/worst/funniest part was Lucy giggling at his reaction the entire way home.  Almost like a, "Karma sucks brother!"

 Did I mention that we've had subarctic temps?  Well, the last week it climbed into the mid 50s and we went nuts!  Sitting in the sun, shooting water cannons at dead plants, we totally "carpe diemed" the outdoors.  Until everything plummeted the next day.  Winter, you suck.  Nobody likes you.  Go away.

 

Even with all the stuff going on, we are still trying to pull it together here with The Fat.  I miss her so much that at times my chest aches.  Our house feels empty, lonely, and incomplete.  i keep hoping that eventually it will get easier and to be honest - some days it is.  Then I have weekends like the last one where every day is spent crying and moping and just flat out missing her.  It will get easier, it will get better, but for now, we still miss you Bean.