A fond, but sad, farewell.

I shed a lot of tears today, I still am. Mostly tears of sadness, but there were some tears of happiness mixed in.
My Grandma died today. I don't like the term "passed away". Passing is something that continues on, death does not. It's an end to something wonderful and to some, like me, a new beginning. My Grandma died today. It wasn't unexpected but it is sad all the same. She had been hospitalized, moved into an assisted living facility and hospitalized again within the last year and a half. We were so lucky to have her as long as we did. And I know she is amazingly happy right now.
I am sitting here with tears streaming down my cheeks. I have a glass of wine next to me. It was her glass. One of a set of four that my mom had given her for Christmas a few years ago and there wasn't room in her new home for them. I got them. I enjoyed them while she was still here and I will enjoy them more now, knowing that now she is so much happier.
My Grandpa died in March of 1996. That was very hard for her. It was hard for the entire family, but you knew she was suffering because she had lost the love of her life. There was a spark that they shared that I haven't seen from anyone else. They literally lit each other up. My Grandma once told me that she wished Grandpa could have met my husband. She knew they would have really like each other. I believe they would have too.
Since then, I graduated college, got married and had 2 children. All of which she has been a part of. My kids are so lucky to have met her!! Even though I know they won't remember her, I know how much she enjoyed them.
I will miss visiting with her when I go back home to Minnesota. I will miss the card playing, wine drinking and talking.
But with all I will miss, I will also know that she is so incredibly happy right now. She is with the man of her dreams. Playing cards and drinking wine, maybe a few Manhattans thrown in. It must be such a beautiful feeling.

Replenishment

I have my coffee in the morning and use the facilities numerous times because of it. I always leave the door open because guarenteed I will have a visit from at least one.

Today, I heard the pitter patter of little bare feet on the tile approaching. Little Miss Maya came toddling in, with a big smile on her face and my coffee cup held in her hands. She held the cup out to me with a look that said, "Here Mommy, I thought you needed this, so I brought it to you!"

Apparently you must replenish what you have just lost?

She looked so proud of herself!! I took the cup, put it down, scooped her up, Gave her a big hug and a Thank You, and walked out to a little trail of puddles.

Such a sweetheart.

*I must add that the cup was less than half full and not hot at all!! :)

My Name is Maya, and I have an addiction...

Miss Maya had a little growth spurt in her feet. That means... SHOE SHOPPING!! For me yeah!! For the bank account, uh oh. Luckily, with sales on Etsy and Ebay, the paypal account is growing, so online shopping it is!

Last week, I found two pair, for a great price, new, on Ebay; one a more dressy and black, the other sneakerlike and leopard. There, done. I did want to find just one more though. I remembered I had a pair of shoes that I saved from Hayden. I figured they could be either boy or girl, so there's a pair. I tried them on her, figuring we'd put them on to see if they fit and put them away. Nope. She started screaming and kicking her feet when I went to take them off. She then proceeded to just walk around the house, non-stop for about a half hour. I don't know if it was the clunky sound they made as she walked or she just liked the feel, but she didn't want those suckers off!

Well, you can't see them that well, but she was walking so darn fast I couldn't get a clear pic!! Timberlands and a dress. Fabulous!

The next day, in the mail, an old friend sent me a huge box of clothes for her and it included a pair of sneakers. I put those on the chair and Maya saw them. Carried them around for awhile and then decided she needed them on. She sat herself down and held the shoes up making her "Mommy, tend to me now" grunting. Another half hour of walking with those on her feet. Just walking. Picked up a toy here and there to carry around. But mainly just walking.

Friday I had to go to Target. As we were roaming the isles, we wandered to the shoe section. I figured a little look wouldn't hurt. I think we tried on 10 different styles and colors, we had to have tried at least that. As I started to pull off the first one, she whined. Put on another pair and started to take it off, she whined. This happened through the whole trying on/taking off adventure. She didn't get crabby or snotty, but just made a little whine as the shoes were slipped off her feet. And then I tried on a pink pair again, thinking those were the ones, decided to get them and then went for the shoes to take them off to put in the bag (we were using the stroller, not a cart). You'd think I was taking away her favorite toy. Kicked her feet, whined a little harder. I pulled off the tag, let her wear them the rest of the time, she never made another peep.

Vikings win!! Kids don't care!!

You know how you occasionally have "matching" outfits sometimes with two or more kids? And they end up wearing those outfits at the same time because you make them because it's Monday night football and the Vikings are on. So because you have forced them into these outfits (okay, not really outfits, but you get the drift) you have to get a picture of them in the outfits, right?

Not so easy though, is it?!

So that's what I get to put in their books. Chances of Maya wearing that dress again are slim. She's 14 months, the dress is 6-9 months. And why Daddy thought posing by the grill was a good idea, I'll never know.