Broken Heart

Audrie is usually very resilient.  But every once in awhile she lets some real sadness show.  So we are driving down the road and she pops off about climbing the ladder thing at Papa's house.  She is referring to the end of the bunk beds.  It's not a clear memory for her anymore.  So she asks if Adrianna climbed it with her.  Yes, Audrie.  So she asks did Adrianna like her then.  Yes, Audrie.  And then she is quiet.  Processing.
A couple of weeks have gone by and she very quietly asks how come no one likes her.  Now I know there are lots of people who like her.  When I picked her up from school the other day 15 kids must have told her good-bye.  And not the good-bye like we are glad you are leaving kind.  And I have seen her play with kids at almost every park we have gone to.  She even introduced me to a friend from school at Kiwanis Park this week.
But today she feels friendless.  And it breaks my heart.  So I told her I like her.
And I really need to find her a good friend.  She needs that one friend that makes everything else smaller.  When I was six my friends were my cousins.  But she is right.  She doesn't have a cousin close by who can be her friend.  Her cousins up north like her, but they live just far enough away that she doesn't see them enough.
Maybe when we are moved into our new neighborhood we will find a friend or at least some playmates.  And in the meantime I think some extra love is in order.

Name Change

And so it has been done.  The little man now shares the same last name as his sister, his daddy and me.  It was a very easy process.  There was nothing to going up before the judge and stating that it was not for anything illegal or fraudulent.  And then it was done.
I say he always has been one of us, but he will now never have to explain it.  No one will question him having a different last name than his sister.  And the name he had, his mom doesn't even have anymore.  He's never met the grandparent that still has that name.  I think this was a good thing I did today.
This was so important to Papa.  He had wanted it done so badly.  But we both procrastinated.  And we may have been having a standoff to see who was going to do it.  But the little man is the last in Dave's line with his name.  The only one who can pass it on some day in the future.
 I have now completed all the things Dave wanted me to do. I do believe this was the most important thing Dave wanted me to do and somewhere, wherever he is, he is smiling.
I planned on taking the littles out to celebrate, but neither wanted to go. They just wanted to get naked and sit around.  When do they outgrow that stage?

Tuesday

So I returned to work bringing Michael raspberries and blueberries for her birthday.  Seems like a tradition now.  They are some of her favorite fruits. And naturally she wasn't at work today.  She had brought me a present for my birthday when I wasn't there so fair is fair.  I'm going to enjoy the cozy jammies and slippers.
After I picked up the kids we did a couple of errands and then took Michael her berries.  Most of the time when we can't connect it seems like someone else gets her treat.  She was most appreciative. The kids played with Grayson while we visited.  It was nice to have adult conversation and have the kids be some place safe and behaving mostly.
On the way out the littles got to meet PJ's snake.  The snake had heard them and got scared so he was curled up in a hidey hole, but they still got to see some of him.  Who knows maybe next time we go PJ will be there and they can really meet the snake.

Last Day

It was the last day of a nice long string of days off.  We hit Kiwanis Park and played.  I walked the path a couple of times while they worked hard on the tire swing.  The little man climbed the rock but only once.  They just wanted to swing.  The little woman ran into one of her friends from school.  I was sure the little miss was one of the tallest girls in her class.  Well her friend is much taller than she is.  I said something and I got that look.  Well her friend is older than the class.  Ah that explained it.  Anyway the park worked pretty well today in wearing them out and then we had quiet time before bed.

Memorial

It turned out lovely.

Waiting

So we didn't get the duplex.  Now we are waiting to hear on the apartment.  If that falls through it may be time to look outside of BG.  I really want BG though to maintain some semblance of normalcy for the littles.  Too many changes already.  Trying to keep school and daycare the same.  They are a rock in our foundation.  But sometimes you got to do what you got to do.
So this morning I wake up to a note.....Mom wants to go shopping.  For my birthday present and groceries (we just went grocery shopping, but okay) and she wants to do it without kids.  She is even willing to pay for a babysitter.  Lovely.  I haven't lived here long enough to find one in this neighborhood.  Guess she has forgotten that I don't have any babysitters.

Superbowl Sunday

And we spent it at the park at Lake Sacajawea in Longview.  The little miss wanted to go do the spinny thing.  Took her many different days of trying to explain what it was that she wanted.  And then it all clicked.
They played and played.  We walked around a bit and looked at the ducks.  Several times I wondered if they were going to go in the lake.  And just before we left I noticed that the freckles on her nose almost make a circle.  We must have been getting too much sun because her freckles just popped.
I've noticed that we have down time and then we have these times where we cram a lot of activity in.  I think the down time makes me feel like we need the active time to burn that energy that accrued.  Anyway.....back to work this week and less activities.  But the days are starting to get longer which opens up a whole bunch more time for walking, stretching, exploring and burning energy.