RIP To My "Big Sister"

I haven't blogged in about two weeks. I've been super busy and I have so much to catch up on in my blog. But, I have to pause a moment first and speak about my amazing friend Carole.

I received the worst news possible on Wednesday morning. I found out that my friend Carole passed away suddenly in her sleep during the night. She was one of my best friends, and I had known her for over 15 years. We met through work, and even though we didn't stay working together, we remained close friends. 

I feel like a part of my heart has been ripped out.

I still sit here in absolute shock. Carole was a rock in my life. She was a calm presence and seemed like she could handle anything. She never got riled - and I always admired that about her. Whenever I got into a tizzy (which happens quite often), she would tell me to "just breathe" and I would - because she told me to. She always checked in with me - and I would with her - even if it was a couple lined text. If I complained about something on FB, she would private message me asking what was up. She genuinely cared - and in this life, that is hard to find sometimes.

So to have her leave this world so abruptly is quite confusing to me, and I am sure it is to everyone else.

She was an amazing wife, mother, grandmother and daughter. She was fiercely dedicated to her family. And once she was your friend, she was your friend for life.

I remember the first time I ever spoke with Carole. She called me because I had submitted my resume for a position with Coldwell Banker. It was late in the afternoon. She said she got my resume and she wanted me to come in for an interview. For those that know me, I kind of have a (possibly overly) bubbly personality at times. I exhibited that bubbliness on the phone by saying excitedly "Thank you so much!" and some other things in a high, excitable, perky tone. She said to me in a calm voice, "Are you always this perky late in the day?" I told her I guessed so and giggled. I didn't know if she liked it or wanted to punch me in the face. Probably both. Heh. We both laughed about that moment over the years.

She was also a wonderful employee. I know it might sound weird for me to mention that now, but she was one of the most dependable workers I ever met. If something needed to be managed, she did it. No complaining - she just did it. I was so sad after several years of her and I working together and she left the company we both worked for. But lucky me, she moved down the street and we could still take our lunch break together.

She took that same attitude into her personal life was well. She took charged of what needed to be done or if someone needed her, she made it happen. That's just how she rolled.

She listened to so many of my ups and downs over the years. She was a big confidant during my infertility journey, and she was one of my biggest supporters and cheerleaders when Briana came into my life. She truly loved Briana - and I love her so much for that.

We had "catch up" lunches because as you know, life gets busy and we didn't always get to see each other as much as we would have liked. But we both cherished those lunches. I caught up with everything with her and her everything with me. It was "our" time. And sometimes her son and Briana were invited to be a part of those lunches. Special invitees only. Heh.

We also took several trips to Chattanooga together (you can see them in my sidebar), the most recent one this past December. When I go back to Chattanooga, I know she will be with me in spirit, even though I rather have her with me in person.

She was at Bri's baptism and first communion. She was at my baby shower. She was at my 40th birthday party. She came to my dad's hospital room to visit when he was sick several years ago. She always told me, "We are family." And she said she was like my big sister - and I felt that way too. She looked out for me. Gave me advice when I needed it. Sent me e-mails to make me giggle. I am going to miss all of that so very much.

I looked around my house the other day and realized how many gifts she gave me over the years that I have displayed all around my house. She even gave me her son's old blow up water slide last summer so Briana could enjoy it. There are sprinkled little reminders of her all over. It's very comforting.

The night/early morning that she passed, something unexplainable happened to me. I didn't understand it at the time, but when I found out what happened to her, I started piecing things together. You may not believe it, but I do...

About 4AM Wednesday morning, I woke up not feeling well. I was having some issues breathing - I couldn't seem to get a deep breath of air. I had been having issues with my breathing for a few days. I couldn't figure out if it was reflux, asthma, allergies, anxiety, etc. That morning I woke up with the same symptoms. I paced around the room for a while as Doug slept. I laid back down and I couldn't get comfortable. I turned on my side and all of a sudden, I felt this warm, tingly sensation all over my body. I even thought to myself "Wow, I feel like someone is hugging me." It felt so nice and calming. I even smiled. I thought to myself, "Could this be my grandmother? My grandfather? My other grandmother?" About a minute later, I heard the doorknob rattle to my bedroom. I stopped and thought, "Did I hear that right? Could it be Bri coming in my room?" I thought maybe I was just hearing things and closed my eyes. It then happened again - louder this time, and I expected Bri to walk into the room. I sat straight up, jumped out of bed and ran to the door to greet her. I expected to see Bri standing there when I whipped opened the door. But there was nothing. It was silent. I looked down the hall at Bri's bedroom and her door was closed. I thought about how strange that was, but I shrugged it off and laid back down. And at that moment, I was breathing easier and fell back to sleep.

At 9AM the next morning, Carole's daughter called and told me that her mom passed during the night. I started to cry even harder than I already had been. My mind went to that very moment. I think it was her. I think it was her saying goodbye to me.

There are not enough words or tears to express what she meant to me. I feel pretty lost right now because something really bad has happened and she isn't able to check in on me. I told her family that she is probably a bit ticked off right now because she isn't here to help us get through this. Because she was the "fixer" and "helper." Someone posted on Carole's Facebook wall that she was "the glue" in our lives. I couldn't have said it better.

I am blessed that I was able to know her. I'm a better person for it. She is now with her dad and her brother. She missed her brother so much when he passed two years ago. I hope they are finally reunited.

I will miss our lunches. I will miss our craft show adventures. I will her championing that Thanksgiving should not be overshadowed by Christmas. I will miss her patriotism. I will miss our trips to Chattanooga. I will miss her e-mails and texts. I will miss her voice. I will just miss her.

Life won't be the same without her.

Bri Selfies

I was updating and cleaning up Bri's iPad a bit yesterday, and when I was taking off her photos, I found a bunch of Bri selfies. We are living in the age of the selfie - what can I say?! A lot of her selfies we taken for apps that allow you do to fun things to your pictures (like add makeup, etc), so she's taking them mostly for that, but there are some regular cute ones I found today too! :)

The Bri and Mei Bonding Process

The Briana and Mei Mei bonding process has been an up and down kind of situation. There are times that I feel a really good connection between them and then at other times, I feel Mei isn't as thrilled with Bri as with me or Doug.

Mei Mei has completely bonded with Doug and me. She is all up in our business about 95% of the time. She loves to sit on us and snuggle. She freely gives licks and kisses and rubs our legs. She is a little shadow and follows me all over the house.

But because Bri is a little smaller, a bit louder and somewhat more awkward, there are times that Mei just won't sit by Bri or sit on Bri. She would prefer to sit with Doug or me. And that gets Bri upset/jealous. Bri sometimes doesn't always read Mei's cues correctly as to whether she wants to be interacted with or not. That makes Mei sometimes a bit nervous around her.

I keep telling Bri that we are really lucky that Mei Mei is super loving and snuggly. And I keep reminding Bri that Mei is still a cat - not a dog. There are times that cats just need to take the lead in the relationship and they need their personal space. If you give them that space, then they will learn to love and trust you completely - allowing them to let their guard down.

As you can see, there are times that they get along amazingly well...

 Getting Mei Mei for Bri was one of the best things I've ever done. Bri is so completely head over heels in love with this cat - even though Mei Mei can be tempermental with her sometimes. Bri says all the time, "I just love Mei Mei SOOOO much!" And when Bri's friends come over, they like to bring Mei into B's playroom so they can "play" with her. Poor Mei. I have no idea what they do to her in there - but she has survived thus far. Heh. 

I'm just so happy to see Bri happy.

One of the issues that Bri has had with Mei is that Bri hasn't been able to find a comfortable way to hold her. Finally last night, Bri figured it out...

I know in time and as Bri gets a bit older, the bond will grow stronger. Bri just wants that super bond to happen immediately. It's hard to get a very excitable 8 year old to hold back on her enthusiasm. Until Bri can control that a bit better, Mei Mei may keep her at arms length.

As you can see below though, Mei has let her guard down for the most part and has definitely settled in...

Soccer Spring Season Update

Yep - soccer season has started up once again! Thank goodness the snow is finally gone and the temps are finally going up a bit so the girls can practice comfortably.

Doug is coaching again this season - and unfortunately, it will most likely be his last. With his work schedule, it is getting really tough to make sure he is available to coach the girls.

We sadly lost two girls from last season due to moves, but we have three new girls that are looking really, really strong. They are a wonderful addition to Team Argentina...

I think Team Argentina is going to rock this season!

Unfortunately due to the snow, there were several days that the kids could not practice. So, the first Saturday game (March 7) was postponed to a Friday night later in the month. And that postponement was a bummer - and completely unnecessary in my opinion - because the weather on March 7th was absolutely perfect for play. This is just a rec league - the kids play strictly for fun - so playing without a ton of practice is not a super big deal. With spring being a very rainy season, there is a strong possibility for rain this Saturday. Which will probably mean another postponement. Any time the sun is shining, we need to take advantage of it. Grumble...

In previous posts, I think you might remember me having some issues with some disorganization with Y rec league in our area that Bri is involved in. I love the girls, love the location, and I love that Doug can coach - and that is why we have stayed. But, the system really needs some changes.

Doug has been looking at into different options for Briana for next year. He's thinking rec play isn't enough for Bri anymore. We are not super keen on starting up with a brand new (much more competitive) organization - most of these other organizations require tons of time & commitment and lots of money.

Then, Doug recently found out that the Y actually does have its own "academy" teams throughout the metro Atlanta area (which we never knew about). The Y academy teams are focused on stiffer competition and serious play, and they play competing organizations. Doug found out about the Y academy league because he has a work associate/friend that just got a new position to improve and grow the academy team in our county. The person that was formally in the position never informed the west side (which is us) of this team's existence - only east side girls are on the team currently. Which is why I'm thinking Doug's friend was recently hired to fill the position.

Doug started telling his friend about Briana and her soccer talent. His friend asked Doug to bring Briana to an academy practice for fun to see how she would do. The coach of that team made Briana do all of the things the other girls were doing. And she kept up like a champ - even though she had never practiced with them before. Doug said she did awesome. The coach said he would take Bri right now if she wanted to join. But, Bri and Doug are both committed to Team Argentina for the spring, so that is where they are staying for the season. 

The question now is what to do in the fall. Should Bri stay in rec or should she join academy?

The pros of moving up to academy are more serious play and better organization. The price to join Y academy is quite reasonable. And the team stays and grows together which promotes camaraderie.

Unfortunately, there are some cons though. 

The academy team has catered to the east side of our county for the past several years. So, none of the girls on that team right now live close to us (hopefully that will change in the not so distant future). It makes it kind of hard to get together with teammates or use a carpool. And where the team practices are now is not super close to where we live at all. Two practices a week in the evening at a field not even close to our house is kind of a thumbs down.

So that is the situation right now. Bri loves soccer, but I don't know if she loves it enough to put in the amount of time that would be required of us just to travel to and from practices. And the competing organizations in our area are waaaay expensive. It's possible Bri might just continue with the rec league next year (U10) if it ends up being the most convenient option for us. Everything is just up in the air right now.

It is pretty cool knowing Bri is ready for academy play though. :)

So that is the update. I know ~ I "talked" your ear off. I'll keep you all posted on what we decide/find out.

Glowing

 I'm telling you ~ the party themes nowadays are getting so dang cool now. I seriously don't know how to keep up. :)

A couple of Fridays ago, Briana was invited to a "glow" birthday party for a good friend from school. Briana dressed in her brightest attire...

When we arrived, Briana stepped under the black light and looked like this...

The party decorations were awesome...

Briana said the girls sang and danced, kicked balloons around, played Twister, ate pizza and cupcakes and made glow pillow cases and headbands.

This is how she looked when she got home. Yikes! LOL!

What a totally cool birthday party theme. I better start thinking about Bri's party now (she's been talking a lot about minions lately). August will creep up quickly. ;)

Snow Chronicles 2015

 Two weeks ago, northwestern Georgia got hit with snow - and my house was a direct target. There was a very definitive snow/no snow line that went through metro Atlanta - and my house was on the snowy side of that line. It was really amazing - I have friends that live just 35 minutes south of me and all they got was a very cold rain.

Doug surprised me a few days before the snow by telling me he needed to go on a business trip to Chile. Yes, that long, skinny country in South America. He was going to fly all night Monday and get to Chile on Tuesday. And then he was grabbing a flight back Wednesday night in Chile and planned to get back home in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday. It was a bit nerve wracking because we knew the snow was coming - just how much was the big question. If you remember Atlanta's "snowpocalypse" last year, you know Georgia doesn't do very well with snow. And Doug missed it completely last year by being on a business trip in Florida.

Doug got out of Atlanta fine that Monday night, and then it started to ice/sleet/snow in the very early hours of Tuesday morning. The roads were slick for sure that morning, so even though it was just a dusting of snow/ice, school was canceled.

Bri was excited even with just a dusting of snow...

We made a tiny snowman...

We were picking up chunks of ice off of the bbq grill...

I live next to a nature area, so we took a little stroll near the creek...

This is a video of the pretty creek and some Bri silliness...



Even though we were outside for just about 45 minutes, it was still nice to sit by the fire when we came back inside...

The snow/ice was melting by afternoon and we had our friend Ella over for a short while (didn't get a picture - ugh!) and then Izzy came over after that. Izzy brought over a rice krispie bar that was the size of the girls' heads! Heh. The girls split it (and couldn't even get close to finishing it)...

Dressing up for Minecraft...

Mei Mei could have cared less about snow outside...

Tuesday afternoon, the weather forecasters were telling us another snow front was coming through most likely Wednesday afternoon. School was canceled once again. I had a doctor's appointment Wednesday morning that I decided to reschedule because I refused to ever get stuck on the road again if the snow decided to come early like it did last year. The snow did hold off until around 2PM though. And then it came down like crazy...

Bri ran outside in pajama bottoms...

Catching snowflakes on her tongue...



It was coming down so hard and fast, and Bri and I ran out to the golf course behind our house to take advantage of some sledding (and I made Bri put some real pants on)...

Then Bri wanted to have a snowball fight...

This was the type of snow that stuck together amazingly well. Perfect for snowballs and snowman building...

By late that afternoon, the neighborhood looked like this...

That evening though, the temps went up a bit and it started to snow/sleet/rain. The rain started to wash away some of the beautiful snow...

The big stress that I had that afternoon revolved around Doug. He called several times from Chile asking what the weather was looking like. That afternoon, I was concerned his flight might be canceled. But as the evening wore on and the temps went up, his flight took off as scheduled. (It ended up that the airport was on the side of Metro Atlanta that only got rain - thank goodness.)

My next worry was even if his plane landed - would he be able to get home or not. Luckily, with the temps warming up and the rain falling, he was able to drive home slowly and got home around 6AM.

I walked around the house early Thursday morning to take some pictures (school was obviously canceled once again)...

I got Bri up kind of early because I knew the snow wasn't going to stick around all that long once the sun was up for a few hours. Doug went to sleep and I took Bri to the golf course again...

The rain/sleet/snow mix made for awesome sledding...

Seriously, Bri was sliding right across the golf course...







She did have one little tumble when she tried to stop herself, so there were some tears. But she brushed herself off and went again a few times. After a couple of hours of sledding, it was time to call it a day. And luckily, Bri got to have another indoor play date with Izzy.

So the snow was really fun, but a bit stressful at the same time. At least it wasn't even close to being as stressful as last year. I was home with my girl this year and I was so glad about that!

And Doug brought me some Chilean chocolate to make me feel a bit better about the whole thing. :)