June 28, 2008
Colin and I are in Winder, Georgia to visit with Dallin’s family and attend his funeral and memorial. We drove down yesterday, leaving at about 8:30 a.m.; the drive took about 7 or so hours with a couple of stops and a long-ish lunch. Traffic was minimal, although we did get stuck in southern NC near Charlotte in a bit of a bottleneck jam.
We arrived yesterday and took a long dip in the hotel pool. It was refreshing! We grabbed a bite to eat across the street before Dallin’s memorial last night. We then wound through Winder, heading about 6 miles in the wrong direction looking for the funeral home. My GPS found four segments of this road with the same name, and I just picked the wrong one. After driving back into town and seeing a bit more of Winder, I found two local police men who gave me directions, and we finally made it to the funeral home. I was frazzled and frustrated and ready to cry when I walked in the door! Colin was a little monster! He was running all over the place and would have nothing to do with hanging out with Heather’s kids. Oh, well…he’s 2.
Andrea looked great! She has such a strong support group - lucky girl! She is a mother with a life outside of motherhood, a fact I am severely jealous of! She takes ballet and recently preformed in a recital, she has some church activities, she plays Bunco with a group of women - this is a life. I want a life!
Anyhow, it was great to see her family. I also saw a friend of Heather’s that I attended middle school with. That was interesting. He’s living in Atlanta now and came up for the memorial last night. I spent some time chatting with Heather and Andrea’s parents and sister Sarina. All the while, Colin ran around like a wild child.
Today is the funeral. I’m not sure if I’ll actually be able to go to the funeral. Heather has arranged for someone to watch Lucas and Jordan during the funeral, but I’m not sure Colin will be keen on staying in an unfamiliar place with people he doesn’t know without me; and I’m certainly not taking him into the church for the service. We’ll see how it goes.
Delaney is staying with my parents - she spent the night at their house while Colin and I are in Georgia and Chris is in the mountains (Chris is on his guided fly fishing trip that I gave him for his birthday). It was hard to leave Delaney yesterday! I’m sure she’s doing fine and she was excited about staying at Gremmie and Poppy’s house. But this is the farthest away from her I’ve ever been and this is the first time she’s been away from home without a parent. My heart is stretching and stretching to absorb all this emotion of the weekend. I’m exhausted!
June 24, 2008
Last weekend, Gumpa gave Colin his first driving lesson. At least according to Colin:
Colin: Me drive!
Gumpa: hand still on the wheel
Colin: Move your hand!
Colin thoroughly enjoyed navigating the boat through the creek, but he did seem to have the tendancy to turn the wheel drastically to the right. We went in circles a few times. Luckily Gumpa, the second-in-command, was quick enough on the wheel to avoid objects in our path…like 100-foot yachts, docks, and fishing and leisure boats.
Notice the right-hand turn. We did this a lot!
I snapped this photo just as Gumpa was saying, “Colin, don’t you think you should watch where you’re going?”
June 22, 2008
My oldest friend Heather called yesterday to tell me that her nephew passed away. Dallin would have turned three in August. Andrea, Heather’s sister, was like a little sister to me for many years; I spent many weeks and weekends “vacationing” at their family’s home in Virginia after my family moved to North Carolina. Andrea was always a lot like me - a fiery streak and a little rough around the edges, but lots of fun Fun FUN! She’s softened up quite a bit since getting married almost four years ago and Dallin’s birth three years ago.
Dallin was a very special child. He had a rare medical condition that is almost one-of-a-kind. He was doing great! He had hit several major milestones in the last few months and was really progressing. His death was a complete shock.
My heart is with Andrea and James and their extended family right now. They live in the metro-Atlanta area, so I hadn’t seen Andrea in years and never had the pleasure of meeting little Dallin. I can’t imagine the journey her heart is taking right now and the multiple directions of her grief. The cause of death is a bit up in the air right now, but at last conversation, Heather said they believe Dallin aspirated while sleeping in the late-morning hours. James found him lifeless when going in to wake him Saturday morning.
Andrea and James have completed the paperwork to adopt a second child. I’m sure adding a second child to their lives would be both a heartache and a blessing. My heart and my thoughts are with the family in their time of grief and I wish them a swift period of healing. Andrea and James have been such wonderful parents to Dallin and I feel confident they will share their open-armed parenting with other children as time passes.
June 16, 2008
So if your birthday is on Friday the Thirteenth, that’s good luck, right? And it’s especially good luck if it’s your thirtieth birthday, right? If raining on your wedding day is good luck, than having your thirtieth birthday on Friday the thirteenth should be doubly lucky!
For my birthday, Chris gave me this totally awesome, totally HUGE greenhouse! Wow, I mean wow wow wow! This thing is incredible. It’s HUGE - like bigger than my current garden, complete with auto-magic roof vents and corrugated plastic siding. I can’t wait to put it together (in our new house, so not anytime soon) and use it. I’m imagining having fresh fruits and veggies all year long! I’ve been reading a book that he also gave me to find out all the ins and outs of greenhouse gardening.
So happy belated birthday to me, and I will get back to the regularly scheduled program soon.
June 12, 2008
Today is Chris’ birthday. He’s 40. Is that old? I don’t think so, and neither do the kids. So the consensus in this house is “NO.” Anyway, happy birthday honey! I can’t wait to give you your gift. I’m tempted to blog about it, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise!
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Totally changing the subject, it’s smoky and yucky here! There are some huge wildfires burning east of the Triangle, and the smoke has filtered all the way to hour area! It’s hazy out - you can really see the smoke lingering in the air - and it smells smoky and ashy. I suspect it will only get thicker and I’ll be able to take some photos, but right now I don’t think a photo would capture the haze. I’m getting a bit of a headache already. The children are playing outside right now; as it gets worse, I don’t want them outside in it for longer periods of time. Yick! We are all going to smell like smoke!
June 12, 2008
It’s official. Yesterday Chris and I “bought” a Prius. Well, we paid the deposit to be put on the 2-3 month waiting list, but that’s good enough for me! I can’t wait! But in the meantime, I have to sell the Mazda5. Joy oh joy.
June 11, 2008
More Wordless Wednesday
June 6, 2008
Delaney: Mom, are you going to have a birthday?
Me: In a couple of weeks.
Delaney: Can I eat some of your birthday? I like to eat it.
June 4, 2008
You do? Of course you do!
We read books in our own bed with the light on before going to sleep.
What? You don’t think that’s extrordinary? Then you’re not hearing me.
We read books in our bed WITH THE LIGHT ON before going to sleep!
Last night was the first night in over 3 1/2 years that Chris and I slept alone. Totally, completely alone. No one in our bed; no one in our room. Alone alone alone. Last night was the first night in 3 1/2 years that we were able to turn lights on in our room after dark. Last night was the first time that we could make as much noise as we wanted brushing our teeth and flushing our toilet without worrying about waking someone up. Wow.
On the eve of his second birthday, Colin moved into his own room. His bed also moved into his own room, so there is no going back! He did quite well - better than expected. He took a while to fall asleep, but once asleep he woke on his normal “schedule,” so we can’t expect much more than that!
May 31, 2008
Date: May 28. 2008 Both are first-timers
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May 30, 2008
Last week Colin and I had some fun bonding time at a local park - just the two of us. I was still trying to keep him relatively still and quiet as we hadn’t passed out of that “post-surgery” window. So we headed down to Pullen Park for a ride on the train and the carousel with our friends Sarah, Abby and Mya. The park was PACKED! It was the last week before Memorial Day, so I suspect may preschool classrooms were taking advantage of the warm weather and end-of-school year festivities.
Our first stop - the train. Colin is much (much much) more cautious and intimidated that Delaney has ever been. He was a little leery of the train, especially when we went through the dark tunnel:
About half way through the ride, he started telling me he was “all done.”
We then tried to take a ride on the carousel. That was a total no-go! Delaney’s first carousel ride was before Colin was born, so she must have been about 16 months old. She was rapt with excitement! Colin on the other hand enjoyed watching it from afar:
(notice him standing on the stroller to get a better view - smarty pants!)
He had no interest in actually riding on one of the animals, stationary or not! He did enjoy sitting with me in one of the sleds, though.
As much as I try, I will always compare my kids. Always. It’s just human nature. That said, I will never say, “why can’t you be more like your brother/sister” or the like. But because they are so different in personality, I will always think about their differences and their similarities. Plus, they are the only two kids I know this well.
So here we go - the comparison. Colin is much neater than Delaney; they can eat the same meal, and Delaney will have a clown mask and a ruined shirt, and Colin will have a dab on his hand and maybe one drip on his shirt. Delaney is much more daring than Colin; Colin is much more cautious than Delaney. Delaney is super outgoing; Colin is more reserved and takes more time to test the water before jumping in. Colin is more tactile than Delaney; Delaney is more spatial. Colin is a runner - he will run away from me in a store, a parking lot, the driveway; Delaney will stay by me, especially in a public place - and she always has. Both children are pretty headstrong - neither ever gives up - which is the cause of many battles in this house. Both children are excellent eaters! Colin is more keen on meat and Delaney more so on vegetables, but both do a great job at eating a wide variety of foods.
Anyhow, back to our mommy and me visit to the park…
Colin and I had a great time spending some quality time together. We both enjoyed visiting with our friends while having new adventures. I’m looking forward to our next mommy and me trip to the park!
May 29, 2008
We recently took the kids geocaching for the first time. We explained that we were going on a treasure hunt, and that they would be able to take one treasure out of the box and leave one treasure for the next hunter. They weren’t crazy about the actual “hunt” part, but they were thrilled with the “treasure” part! There are hundreds of geocaches within just a few miles of our home. We plan to make this a regular family activity.
Treasure hunt trail
Hunting
Treasure spotted - how do I get there?
Suspense…
Pocketing treasure
The second hunt
More treasure
Delaney brought home a rubbery plastic frog and a beat up toy car; Colin brought home a pencil and a bean smiley-face ball.
May 28, 2008
More Wordless Wednesday
