Visit from Meljo and Now All Is Quiet

Kate has been working with Maizie on cooking lately. When the girls are here Kate says, "The more the merrier!" Wow. She is like a saint because making lasagna with so many cooks in the kitchen is enough to send me off for a long nap. The girls were great and the lasagna was super yummy. Mimi and I played about six rounds of UNO. She kicks my butt every darn time. I don't get it. She is like an UNO God or something. This last week Melissa and her kiddos made the long long drive to visit us. We had a great time despite the ongoing ice storm that kept us inside for far too long. Darwin...aka, the "baby kisser" was all over baby Sam. Wherever Sam was you would find Darwin. Melissa was doing a craft with Alex and there was Darwin laying right in the middle of all the action. Everyone that spends time with Darwin says, "He is a really strange dog." I always thought he was pretty normal as far as dogs go. Apparently he is like a cat and a nanny trapped in a dogs body. Oh, and yes...Alex is digging for gold in the picture below. So precious.I now understand why my sister Melissa has her hands full. It has been a long time since I have been around a little baby and a pre schooler at the same time. I don't think Melissa gets much sleep anymore. Alex and Sam are totally adorable.

Tonight its just me and Maizie chilling. The house is sooooo quiet. I miss Melissa and the kiddos and at the same time...well, the house is just soooo quiet. I do like quiet.

Where are You?! Sad and Good News.

Where did your blog go? I can't find you!

Ugh. Sigh. I know. I know. I did not "move" blogs. I simply changed the address on this blog which made the old address disappear forever. So....no one can find me. On the Autism Hub my address has not been updated because the guys who run it are super duper busy but I am sure it will be done real soon.

The picture above describes perfectly what I am doing when I am not blogging. I have been making hats. My Dad lost his snow hat that an aunt had made him. He wore it for the last forty five years! Guess who made him a new one...me! He was so excited. Seriously. He was.

My Grandmother, Maizie's Great Grandmother passed away. Maizie was very close to her and we both took it hard. My Grandma was an amazing woman. Maizie handled the funeral with poise and grace. I am so proud of her. She asked a lot of questions and did fantastic being introduced to family and friends. My sister Melissa wrote a beautiful post all about my Grandma. I would love to do the same but my energy level is just not there. Please read her post. I love it. My Grandma Mary is in the picture below. She was so beautiful. On the outside and inside.
Maizie has had a lot of questions about death. First we had Zebra pass away and then her Great Grandmother. When we were at the showing Maizie asked many interesting questions. All kids do! Explaining to her what a "showing" was made the entire ritual of viewing your loved ones body sound sooooo strange. Maizie looked at me like I was from another planet when I told her that we would see her Great Grandma in her coffin. At the showing Maizie asked,"When will Great Grandma float up and go away out of her coffin?" Wow. So many questions.

I have some wonderful belated news as well. Me and Chris married on New Years Eve. A simple simple little ceremony. Maizie is excited to have a step Dad and the girls are excited to officially call me their step mom. So, now they can picture me like all the popular fairy tale step moms. Sigh. Are there any positive images of step moms anywhere?

Maizie Loses her Beloved Zebra

We had a great vacation. Relaxing and a bit of an adventure. The vacation ended on a sad note. Zebra, Maizie's beloved guinea pig passed away suddenly. I noticed she was sleeping in her food bowl underneath the hay which was unusual for Zebra. When I picked her up she was listless and unable to walk. Just the day before she was popcorning and happy as can be. It was not too long ago we lost Clay, Sally's snake. In the photo above Zebra is on the right. Her buddy Salem is in the middle and Chloe's guinea pig Louie is on the right. Salem will surely be lonely but we will not be getting another piggie.

There was something special about Zebra. Maizie and Zebra would "play Candy Land together" and she was Maizie's nap partner through many long nights of CVS. Maizie is handling the loss well. It will not surprise me though if Maizie has not really realized what has happened yet. It might take her a few days before it really hits her. I on the other hand was a bit of a mess. Sometimes one small loss reminds you of past losses and losses yet to come.Chris bundled up and buried Zebra out back in a playdoh box. Poor thing. Poor Chris. It was beyond freezing out and the ground he was able to shovel through was where our sump pump drains. A muddy, cold mess. Sally helped which was nice. Once inside he set his nasty muddy shoes aside for a later clean up. Maizie and Mimi suddenly thought it would be good fun to tromp through the house in Chris's big shoes. Mud. Lots of mud all through the kitchen and hallway. Yuck! Apparently, children are drawn to muddy over sized shoes.

Maizie said a little prayer for Zebra today. As far as chunky guinea pigs go Zebra was the best. We will miss you Zebra.