We were out fairly late last night (well, late for us anyway), and when we got home, we didn’t check the messages. In a way, I’m glad I didn’t check them until this morning, because as soon as I saw the who the call was from, my stomach dropped. Does that ever happen to you? You know that the only reason a certain person would call you is if it’s bad news. I was right. It was bad news. I wasn’t expecting it, though. My cousin D called to tell me that her sister P had passed away Saturday night.

P had been fighting pneumonia (on top of other health issues that she’s been dealing with) and had apparently taken a turn for the better and they had actually moved her to a care center for interim care until she could go home. But then she took a turn for the worse and was sent back to the hospital. And I guess she was done fighting. She has had cancer and some other things to deal with over the last few years, and she was done. She was tired and she wanted to go home. That’s what my mom wanted several years ago, so I understand how it goes, and how hard it is to let go of the one you love, yet you know you have to. The same thing had happened to my mom - she was on the upswing and was going to be able to come home and then she took a downturn and never recovered. Sometimes I wonder if, when things like that happen, it just breaks your spirit so much you can’t muster the energy to fight it anymore.

Anyway, my cousin P was only 57. Her son is only three years younger than I am. And she is the first one of my cousins to pass away. And somehow that is really hard to deal with.

I don’t know how much I’ll post this week. It may be normal. It may be hit and miss. It may be nothing. I just know that I need to grieve and think about my family right now. So, please keep all of us, but especially her immediate family, in your thoughts and prayers.

I rarely get to see my extended family. We see Mike’s family quite often, and his extended family at least at Christmas, and usually at some other point or points during the year. But the last time I saw my extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins), LG was just starting to stand up by holding onto things, so it’s been awhile - mid 2005 if I’m not mistaken. (Read on …)

So much to talk about…where do I begin?

Well, I guess the biggest news here in the Sonoran desert is the weather. It is first of all very very very VERY cold. As in it snowed in some parts of the Valley today. Yes. You read that right. SNOW. Of course not at my house, but a mere 7 miles away (4 miles west and 3 miles north).

Very very cold. And wet. And rainy. And even snowy. I keep hoping it will get snowy here, but not quite yet. El Nino has finally arrived with a vengeance. Two weekends in a row of cold wet rainy weather. This just in: My friend informs me it is snowing in Tucson and that his brother reports 3 inches of snow on his car. Crazy weather.

In the midst of all the craziness, I had to go to Mike’s cousin’s bridal shower today. They are getting married in Hawaii, so it had a Hawaiian theme. Which really made sense since it was cold and rainy, but whatever…it was fun! We got to decorate flipflops, which may have literally been the most girly girly craft I’ve ever done and I might be addicted or something. We got to have hula lessons. I suck at it, by the way. And we played this really crazy fun game during the gift opening. While the bride to be was opening gifts, two sets of dice were making their way around the circle. There were four party gifts in the middle of the circle and if you rolled a double, you got to take one of the gifts. After all the gifts were taken, you got to steal someone’s gift, and this went on until all the real gifts were opened and whoever had a gift at that point got to keep it. It makes the whole gift opening process a lot less tedious and boring and really keeps the energy up. Great game for a shower if you ever need one.

Hope you all had a great weekend. We sure did! :)

Today was supposed to be National Karin Gets to Sleep in as Long as She Wants Day, since Mike had a rare day off after not having to work extremely late the night before. But, as usual, my infernal body clock woke me up at 7:30 a.m., so there went that idea.

I was tired last night, so I had to make pumpkin pies this morning while Mike kept Little Girl occupied watching the parade. Then it was off to Mike’s parents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner with his parents, grandfather, great aunt, siblings, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Mike’s brother had found a swing set on Craig’s List for $150, so he snatched it up and it now occupies a corner of my in-laws back yard. LG had never been on a swing before today (hard to believe isn’t it?), and at first she was a little leery, but before long she had it all figured out and it was rather difficult to get her back off the swing!

After dinner, we hung out and chatted and just enjoyed each other’s company. One of the things that I appreciate about Mike’s family is that there is very rarely any drama at family gatherings. In fact, I can’t actually remember there ever being any drama. There probably has been, but if so, it wasn’t enough for me to remember it.

We came home, put a very tired little girl down for her very late nap and Mike put together her new bed.

And then there was a beautiful sunset…

And tonight, I got to put LG to bed in her new big girl bed, which she loves…

But she didn’t want to stay in her bed. She’s intrepid, that one, and she wanted to get out and run around. So I told her that she needed to stay in her bed and if she needed me, she could call me. But she didn’t want to stay in her bed - she wanted to climb in and out of it. So I explained to her that if she didn’t stay in bed, she would have to go back and sleep in her crib tonight. Then I put her in her bed, turned off the light, and left the room. And she promptly got out of bed and ran to the door. So, I took all her toys out of her bed, put the mattress back in the crib, and in she went. I’m sure you will not be surprised to hear that there was a major meltdown. I won’t bore you with all the details, but this is probably the first night in her life my baby has ever really cried herself to sleep. And it was not fun. For either one of us.

But, Mike and I had discussed this before he left for work and decided that if she chose not to stay in bed (which knowing her, I was pretty sure she wouldn’t) that was the way I would handle it. And no it wasn’t pleasant. And yes I felt horrible listening to her cry and comforting her. But, the bottom line is that we have to set limits and be consistent and she has to hold up her end of the bargain. We might be going through this again tomorrow night and the next few nights to come. Or maybe she’ll get it after only one night. I’m crossing my fingers. Because I sure don’t like to have to listen to my baby cry herself to sleep.

Last night we had a family get together to draw names for Christmas since some members of the family wanted to start shopping before Thanksgiving. It also happened to coincide with a visit from Mike’s cousin who lives in Washington, D.C. It was her first opportunity to meet some of the kiddos (including ours), and it was, of course, nice to see everyone. LG was sad that her girl cousin wasn’t there, but she had a good time anyway.

This morning, I took her to the pediatrician’s office to get a flu shot. The pediatrician apparently only carries shots for under 3s, so next year we’ll be able to get one since her birthday isn’t until December and then we’ll have to reevaluate.

I was slightly torn about whether to get the shot for her this year since she is a pretty healthy kid and doesn’t have any respiratory issues, but since I was told that it is recommended for young ones to get the shot if they are going to be around pregnant women (and there is a slight chance that I could possibly get pregnant during the flu season), I decided to go ahead and do it.

She did pretty well. She hasn’t had a shot in about 8 months, and there is a big difference between a 15 month old and a 23 month old. As in language. OWIE!!! *sob sob* But it was over before she even realized it hurt and she calmed down pretty quickly. I’m sure she’s not going to be very happy with me when she gets another shot or two in a month when she has her 2 year old checkup.

After that we went to Joann’s because they were having a big sale and I needed to get a few things. Unfortunately, all the shopping carts were spoken for, so I had to let LG walk and be free. I normally like to have her riding in the shopping cart so I don’t have to watch her like a hawk while I’m trying to pick out fabrics, but no such luck today. So for the first time, she was free in a store. She actually did pretty well. Other than the couple of times she threw herself down on the floor and said “nini” and wouldn’t get up. Honestly, I’ve seen kids throw tantrums, scream, and run from their parents. Compared to that she was a perfect angel. So it wasn’t too traumatic. I might even do it again someday even if there are shopping carts available. ;)

The rest of the day has been pretty kickback. Mike is doing double duty today with the band, but he’ll be done early, so he might actually be somewhat awake in the morning. Imagine that. Even better, the new choir director at church started last week and so Mike doesn’t even have to go over there just to make sure things are all right. He’s free again! Yay!

Hope you’re all having a fabulous weekend!

Today. Today I got out of the house. And went to my in-laws. And saw the new baby! Little Girl loves babies. She loves to point to all their body parts. Eye! Nose! Toes! Ahbrow! Tongue! Hair! Elbow! She doesn’t love it so much when she wants Mommy to pick her up and/or go where she wants her to go and Mommy can’t because she is holding the baby. But, Grandma was there, so she took care of those needs. Except for when LG tried to climb into my lap at the dinner table when I was holding the baby. That didn’t work so well.

I can’t blame her really. I’ve not been able to pick her up and hold her too much for the last couple of weeks. So the fact that I was able to pick up and hold her (much much smaller and lighter and not as heavy) cousin probably didn’t seem too fair in her mind.

On the other hand, if we do end up having another baby, she needs to get used to the idea that Mama will not always be able to pick her up whenever she wants her to. So, a good learning opportunity.

I love girl babies. Love them. Love them. Boy babies are cuddly and cute, too. But there is something about a girl baby. Maybe it’s because I had a girl baby. Maybe if I’d had a boy baby I’d like boy babies best. But I have to be honest. Whatever the reason, I am rather partial to girl babies. So I really enjoyed cuddling my little niece today. And it made me think it might be nice to have one more girl baby. So, we’ll see. We shall see.

Oh, and the ankle? Getting better. Still swelling a little when I’m on it, but less and less. I even had to carry LG in from the car when we got home because she fell asleep and I was able to do it without any pain. So I think we’re on the right track. I’m just not going to push myself too far too fast.

But I’m totally going to Joann’s tomorrow. I’m having Joann’s withdrawal!

Hope your day was good. I’ll refrain from gloating about our weather. Today. Muwahahahaha!

My father usually calls on Thursday mornings when she who shall not be named goes to get her hair done. So, this morning he called and we were actually in the middle of doing some music so I didn’t talk to him very long, but long enough for Little Girl to sweetly say “hiiiii!” and “bapa!”

He then asked me what we were doing for Christmas. Which, although I’m sure many of you people out there know what you are doing for Christmas Day, I really don’t have any clue yet. Part of it depends on whether or not they hire a new choir director and Mike doesn’t have to do all the Christmas morning masses (they freaking better hire a new choir director SOON is all I have to say about that). Mike’s family has a big get together before Christmas with all the cousins and siblings and kiddos and in-town family, which is great because then we are all free to not feel guilty if we can’t make it to someone’s house for Christmas. Last year, Mike’s parents and grandfather came over to our house and I made a fairly simple dinner. Since we have so much going on Christmas Eve night, the last thing I want to do is make an elaborate meal, but it was nice anyway. I sort of assume that is what we will do again this year. It’s just easier that way. Mike’s mom doesn’t have to cook, other than to make whatever she brings to contribute to the meal, and they don’t have to clean up. Plus, all his siblings live on the other side of town, so it just works out best for all of us.

Anyway, back to my dad. He asked because he is going to be alone for Christmas. She who shall not be named is going to spend Christmas with her children in Texas and he says he doesn’t want to go back there where it’s cold. Guess I can’t blame him much for that. Also, she’s staying until mid-January because one of her grandchildren is getting married then. I suspect we’ll see a lot more of my father those few weeks.

So, he wants to come over and spend Christmas with us. Which is fine. And weird. I haven’t spent Christmas with my father since before my mother died, so that would have been 1999, believe it or not.

This will be a really special Christmas, because even though it’s LG’s third (!!!) Christmas, the first Christmas she had only been home from the hospital for 5 days and she was only 3 weeks old. Last Christmas she didn’t really “get” it because it was the first Christmas she was really aware of. So this Christmas should be really amazing and fun. Because she will “get” it. And she will have just ripped open gifts covered with wrapping paper a few weeks before on her birthday. So it should be a LOT of fun. I think I’ll invite him to come over sort of early in the morning so he can enjoy the fun.

I think it’s really important that she spend at least one Christmas with her grandfather, and this may be the only one she ever gets. He’s going to turn 79 a few days after she turns 2, and who knows when she who shall not be named will be gone for Christmas again?

I still remember the Christmases that my maternal grandfather would come and spend with us. Oh, how I looked forward to those visits! I want LG to have good memories of her grandfather. I’m sure at some point when she’s older I will tell her the truth of the situation, but for now, I want her to build as much of a relationship as she can such as it is.

And in the meantime, I thank God for Mike’s parents who are always there to watch her when we need them to and with whom she has an awesome and wonderful relationship. I miss her at church on Sunday nights, but the time she spends with her grandparents is utterly priceless. And she needs to have some of those priceless memories of her other grandfather stored up for when he’s gone.

So, the face of our Christmas Day just changed. I think for the better.

Little Girl has a new baby cousin! Mike’s oldest younger sister (did you get that? lol!) had a baby girl last night. Yay! Someone to pass the girl clothes to…lol!

Here are some fun facts about this baby (because I’m a sucker for patterns and numbers):

• Up until this baby was born, Mike and his siblings all had opposite sex babies. Meaning - his younger brother had a girl, his youngest sister had two boys and he himself had a girl. Now that pattern has been ended.

• But the other pattern of the grandchildren: girl, boy, girl, boy, girl - is intact.

• The oldest girl in the family would have been 22 months minus 6 days older than Little Girl had LG made it to her due date. LG is 22 months minus 4 days older than this new baby girl.

So our news of the day is that I’m going to be an aunt again!

Mike’s youngest sister is expecting baby #2 (another boy) at the end of July. So that’s 2 girls and 2 boys. Girl (brother’s daughter), boy, girl (ours), boy. So if I got preggers (*cough*) that would mean another girl, right? lol! But his other sister is also trying to get pregnant right now, so we’ll just have to wait and see. (And no that doesn’t mean I’m TRYING to get pregnant, it just means that if it happened we wouldn’t be terribly disappointed or anything).

Counting extended family, that will bring the total to 5 boys and 3 girls in the last 5 years. That’s a lot of babies!