It's been a long month...

Wow.

I knew it had been a while since I'd posted, but I didn't realize it had been more than a month!

I suppose that probably has something to do with the fact that everytime I'd get ready to post an update on the chaos that has been my life for the last month, I'd start thinking about my mom. And, well, I just haven't been ready or able to write about her yet. So, I haven't posted at all.

She's been gone for over a month now, and there are times it still feels unreal. I don't know how long'll it'll be until I won't think, "I've got to call Mom, and tell her what Garrett did today!" or "Mom'll be thrilled to know that _____, and I have to remember to let her know..." I still do that almost daily.

For example, when the new "Alice in Wonderland" was out in the theaters, and the commercials were regularly running on tv, Garrett would stop whatever he was doing and watch them. Every time. Mom and I thought it was awesome, considering he was only about 8 or 9 months old at the time. Trin and I rented the movie a couple of weekends ago, and I put it on while getting G ready for bed, thinking (since he was ridiculously tired already) that I could put the movie in and rock him to sleep. Yeah. Garrett was fascinated by the movie--watched the entire thing! I so wanted to call Mom and tell her!

It sucks.

The other fabulousness, other than the simple fact that she's no longer here with us, that resulted from Mom passing away, is that I had to all of the sudden find someone to watch Bubba while I was at work. Todd doesn't work, but he's not able (for a number of reasons) to watch Garrett by himself for an entire day. Mom was our childcare. So, my cousin, Eden, has been wonderful--she jumped in to start watching him everyday the first week I was back at work. But--and it's a big but--Eden's job hunting. Which means that, best case scenario for E and worst for me, I could be without childcare again very soon--eek! The problem here is that we really can't afford to pay for childcare.

I'm the only working adult in the house right now, so money's already tight, but since there are two parents in the household, we can't get any state assistance--they'll only help out for the time periods when both parents are working. Wonderful.

Well, my sister (thank you, Mundee!) is picking up Tuesdays for us, starting next week. And, my fabulous friend, Mary, says she'll watch him one day a week as well, so she's starting by watching both Garrett and Trinity this Friday. That's a definite start. I'll just keep praying about the rest of it--I know He'll provide what we need!

Garrett is definitely moving right along in the mobility department. Not only did he seriously start walking EVERYWHERE the day after Mom died, but now he's CLIMBING. Crap. He's definitely keeping us busy--everytime I turn around, he's climbed up on a box, or a chair, or the stool in the kitchen; which, in turn, means items that were safe on tables and counters before are no longer quite so safe. What an adventure he is!

Trin's having a pretty good summer so far (other than losing her Grandma, of course). She's basking the laziness that is no school, and she was allowed to attend the junior higher's overnighter at our church. She wasn't the only younger there, of course, but she was the only kid--period--to literally stay up the entire night! The kids ranged in age from around 7-14, and Trin beat out even the teens to stay up all night! She then slept for 10 hours straight the next day, woke up for about 3 hours, and went back to sleep for the entire following night to make up for it, but that's an entirely different story, lol! Oh, and I was able to get her signed up for a week of free swimming lessons at the local community center, which she adored.

Okay, I think that's it for tonight. I'll try to get back on track of updating more often. I don't cry EVERY time I write/talk about my mom now.....