Happy Un-Anniversary To Us!

Happy Anniversary Sean, or actually, Happy UN-Anniversary! We have been married 5 years and are technically still newlyweds having only celebrated one actual anniversary so far..You are an amazing man, a wonderful husband and a terrific father. I love you!

Valentine's Day Craft

One of our goals right now is to get back on track with everything, including Hannah's lessons. So, today we are doing school. One of the things we did today was to make this craft, a pop-up heart Valentine's Day card. Really super easy and cute!



Supplies

* Construction paper
* Safety scissors
* Glue

Directions

1. Fold a piece of construction paper in half.

2. Draw half of a heart on the folded side of the paper.

3. Cut along the line of the heart starting at the top, but be sure to cut only about a third of the way down. This should leave about a 1 inch section uncut at the bottom of the heart.

4. Unfold the paper and push the heart forward so that it will now fold in the opposite direction.

5. Glue a second piece of construction paper to the back of the one you have cut the heart shape into, but be sure you don't glue any of the heart area.

6. Now you can decorate it however you like and give it to someone special.

Enjoy!

*This craft is from sproutonline.com

My Very First Tomato

Isn't she a beauty?! I am so proud of my first attempt at a garden. I figured if I could keep a tomato plant alive and thriving and actually producing tomato's then I would branch out and plant some other things. Well my tomato plant is doing fantastic and definitely producing tomato's! I have about 15 more on the plant that are not quite ready yet. But this one is totally ready and I am thrilled! Its the little things in life these days...

Ahhh, That's Better!

So we have been living with my dad's mom since August. The plan was to move in and help take care of the house. It turned into taking care of GMA pretty heavily. She has had some pretty serious mental health issues for years, but went untreated until recently. Things escalated pretty fast and the first part of this week was a nightmare. She threw a cane at my 4 year old, pushed my mom into a door and scratched the hell out of my arms (drew blood). She is on a plane right now (heavily medicated) on her way to my uncles in Virginia so my parents can go on a vacation and not worry about what is happening back here. The plan is to put her in a home when she comes back to Phoenix, so we are able to settle into the house more now finally.

So we are trying to relax and enjoy no more drama in our lives! Ahhh, that's better!

Life Goes On..

Its amazing how fast life gets back to 'normal' after so much stress and trauma for months on end. Things were in slow motion for weeks and as soon as MIL passed, things were in like fast forward. So many things to do immediately, but then we are at the sit and wait point again. We can't do the rest of what needs to be done (closing accounts and paying off debts and all things financial and legal) til we get the death certificate and that can take up to 30 days. We have gotten everything done that we possibly can get done.

Now I am trying to get us all back on some sort of schedule. Get Hannah's schooling back on track, bedtime routines, play dates, cleaning routine, and lots of other things. Lucky for us we will have the house totally back to ourselves and just get to be the three of us again for the firs time in 6 months. I cannot even tell you how much I am needing that. Anyway life does indeed go on...

The Business Of Living

We have been getting on with the business of living since MIL passed on Wednesday. Its not an easy thing, there is some guilt, definitely disbelief and at times a feeling of just being on auto-pilot. We cleaned out her old room, sent a box of her clothes and pictures and some other things to Tori (SIL) and kept some stuff for Hannah, and for us. The rest we took to Goodwill. She would want us to be getting on with our lives and that is what we are trying to do, while remembering her in the good times. Wednesday night we took Hannah and went to Cold Stone for some ice cream, GMA Marilyn's favorite! We raised our spoons and toasted GMA Marilyn. Thursday morning it was on to the funeral home to make all the arrangements. MIL wanted to be cremated, so we didn't have to make that decision. We had asked that she be cremated in the elephant flannel jammies that Hannah picked out for her for Christmas, and her fuzzy pink socks. We also asked that the earrings she was wearing at the time of her passing (from Tori) be cremated with her. We purchased a beautiful oak with a cherry finish urn. Sean had asked to see her one last time as well, so they got her out of the refridgeration and laid her out for us. Hannah didn't want to see her, so she waited with the staff from the funeral home while I went with Sean to support him. It was very difficult. The last time we saw her, yes she was dead, but she was warm. Now she was...frigid. I don't mean to be morbid, but I feel like I should get this out. Anyway, after finishing all the arrangements, we went and took my dad out for his birthday. Yeah. We met up at Lonsdale's for a cigar and sandwich lunch. It was a nice time and even relaxing. That night we went back over to my parents house for a family dinner and birthday cakes. We are trying to just get through each day, taking each emotion as it comes. What else can we do?

So now today is Super Bowl Sunday and the Arizona Cardinals are in it...how the hell did that happen anyway...we will probably watch some of the game, we are working on some projects around the house, doing laundry..you know, the normal stuff. So I guess, we have successfully gotten on with The Business of Living...