The Wedding

The wedding went off without a hitch (no pun intended since "they were getting hitched). The day started early - as you know, it was at my house, in the backyard. The first thing I did when I got up was check the weather, our local newstation called for "RAIN???" - how could that be, it has been so beautiful out lately. It was overcast but RAIN...after all the lovely yard work Willy has done it CANT rain....geez louise - (sorry Louise) but...then I watched Channel 8 news and they said it was going to be a nice warm day...and it was...Everything went without a hitch. Michael went golfing - yep, that's what I said - golfing - poor guy, not only did we kick him out the night before telling him it was back luck to stay, his mom made him sleep on the floor - so he got up and went golfing (actually Marc went too as well as Michael's best man). Anyhow wedding was at 5:00 and then came running in at 4:30...sheesh, talk about cutting it close. Anyhow Sara was locked away in the backroom and Michael on the other side of the house, managed his shower and we hurried him out the back just in time. Moments before Sara came out I said to Mike "are you nervous" and his smart ass reply was "nope, just another day"...Suddenly the music started playing, Elvis Presley singing "Cant Help falling in love with you" and out walk Willy and Sara - both of them sobbing, holding back my tears, and muttering under my breath, "I am not gonna cry, I am not gonna cry" when I looked over at Michael and tears were streaming down his face - well sorry folks, I just lost it...and everyone else followed. It was a beautiful day and well, just look at the pictures to prove it. (and baby slept like a baby) :)

Moving Day

Well moving day came (and went) without a hitch...nothing got broken (that I know of); the boxes were stored almost where they were supposed to be stored and the kids are (un)settled in their new abode for supposedly the next 6 months. Things are a little crowded in what I always thought was a pretty big bedroom - but Michael got everything almost squared away last night. Arianna slept the night and Sara managed to get some shut eye too. Cant say if Michael did or not - however as we speak he "is" sleeping now :)
My house isnt even that much of a mess, they got up yesterday morning and went straight to work rearranging the stuff left in my kitchen and putting it - well I dont know exactly where they put it but at least its (almost) all gone out of my kitchen. Out of sight, out of mind.
Now the only thing that "I" have to learn to do is stop planning meals! On moving day I thought I would make a big pot of chili as I knew they would all be hungry - but when they all came back the chili was put on the back burner and out came the phone for PIZZA....Then yesterday I thought I would make a big curried chicken feast - taking out lots of chicken breasts, then around 4:30 I ran up to the store for last minute things for dinner and when I got home Sara told me they had been invited out to a barbecue...Hmmm, needless to say there are lots of leftovers in my already overcrowded fridge. Too bad I am on a diet - if I could eat lots there would be lots of room in the fridge. BUT live and learn - no more planned dinners and as I said before they moved in - everyone fend for themselves...the only one who doesnt seem to learn from this adage would be "moi"...
Have great Canada Day stat off (Happy Canada Day yesterday) and enjoy today off - kick back, have a beer but DONT COOK!

Weddings

What can you say about weddings - except that marriage is a fine institution - at least for some people I suppose. I love weddings. I love the way the groom looks at the bride as she walks down the aisle, I love the flirtatious look the bride gives her groom as she takes his hand as she reaches the front. I love the way the bride gives her "daddy" a kiss just as he lets her hand go to her future husband. It's all so romantic and I just love it. I love the preamble as well - going out shopping for the dress, for the venue, the food. Everything. Well we did all that however when the final t's were to be crossed and i's to be dotted they CHANGED THEIR MINDS....Yes folks, I am talking about Sara and Michael. They were going to have this elaborate wedding "NEXT JULY" but like I said - they CHANGED THEIR MINDS....no not about getting married, they are still doing that however what with all the costs they have now decided that they want a backyard wedding (YES - BACKYARD...MY BACKYARD) and they only want the immediate family. So on July 14th @3:00pm they will be getting married - yes, I did say - IN MY BACKYARD and the only people who will be there will be Sara and Michael for obvious reasons, the Commissioner, again - for obvious reasons. Arianna of course. Then Willy, myself, Michaels' mom and dad Gloria and David - Michael's sister Laura. Marc, Lisa and Amanda and Sara's bf and husband Carleen and Chris and Michael's bf. Then we will celebrate the evening with a small barbecue. HOWEVER in August we will be having a reception (and I dont' think this one will be in my backyard, I think for this one we will rent a small hall) and invite EVERYONE to come and have a little celebration with us.
Now - before I say goodbye, one more thing - they arent just having a wedding in "MY BACKYARD" but on July 1st they are moving, lock, stock and barrel into my house. That's right - they are moving home - the 3 of them, taking over MY BEDROOM and moving in for at least 6 months with the hopes of saving $$$ so they can hopefully afford the future home of the Baird's.
But all kidding aside I am truly looking forward to all of this. I cant wait to have them under my roof - I get to have my hands on Arianna 24/7 and I am sure they both can use a little rest once in a while - and anything to help them save towards the wedding I am all for.
So all of you please do not feel offended if you dont get invited to the wedding, be darned sure that you all will most definitely be invited to the reception in August.
Love to you all
Cathi

Baby steps

I guess sometimes in our lives we have to expect people and/or ourselves to take "baby steps", a few steps forward, a few steps back and very slow steps. Sometimes those baby steps can be disappointing, sometimes they are expected. Life is baby steps whether we like it or not - but we have to accept it. The old saying "God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change" - it is true, but it certainly is a hard one. I am taking baby steps towards accepting some things I can't change but man...it's tough! But c'est la vie I suppose.
Ciao for now!

BOWLING - not my "forte"

Hi all - me, Willy and my friends went "bowling"...well if you want to call it that. It was 10 pin bowling and although I have done 5 pin (and not very well) I had never even been in a 10 pin bowling alley before, let alone "bowl"...But we had fun (I think) although I lost. It's a good thing that I am not competitive when it comes to sports because I certainly would have been a sore loser...yes, I did lose however I have to say that my girlfriend who bragged that she grew up 10 pin bowling did NOT win by much over me...now the guys - well they were a different story. When one got ahead of the other then all hell broke lose trying to outdo each other. This was 2 weeks ago that we went. Now I know I am a big girl but I have these skinny little fingers and small little wrists so I had to find a ball that wasnt very heavy. In fact, I think that the ball that I used was for someone about 6 years old. It was bright orange and well suffice it to say, did not weight too much. My allies used much heavier balls and because of that - the holes in the balls were much bigger. My little tiny orange ball had teensy weensy little holes. My little fingers fit well except my middle finger. And well - still, 2 weeks later my middle finger is swollen and quite stiff and sore...small price to pay to lose right...oh well, maybe next time I may graduate to a 8 year old's ball...But - I had fun and hey, isnt that what counts the most??

Six months ago today....(sorry no Secret today)

I can't believe that today marks the passing of Cody 6 months ago today. We believe that he actually passed on the day of his accident but legally he passed on the 20th when they disconnected him. Look at this picture of him, this was taken only days before he had his accident. He was a normal 13 year old. Life is not fair and I still don't understand why he had to go.
I miss my little Cody so terribly much. The pain is still strong and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of him. Every morning when I wake up I say good morning to him and when I go to bed at night I say good night - but at night I can lie in my bed, alone and cry. I dont know when or even if the crying will ever stop. I just dont understand any of this. All I know is that I am not ready to go over in my mind the day of his accident. The wound in my heart is still too deep to think of it. It hurts terribly and I wonder if it will ever heal. My heart breaks when I see Lisa - her eyes are vacant most of the time and I know I will never ever have my old Lisa back. She doesnt understand it either. People say it was God's will, that doesnt help us right now. And I know that a lot of people have gone through the same thing, losing a child is the worst...but selfish as this may seem, I just dont want to hear about the other person because WE are going through it now and I cant think about those other people. That sounds so terribly horrible but it's the truth although I wonder how they managed to get through it...We are getting through it, we are living and sometimes we even seem truly happy. But there is always that emptiness that we feel, the pain in the heart, the hole that doesnt seem to want to get better. There are some days that I feel bad and I am not sure what it is, until of course I really think about it and those are the days when I know it's all about Cody, when I have seen Lisa or Greg or Amanda - I see their vacant looks and then I know why I am feeling so bad. I hate this. I really really hate this and some days just want to hide my head under the covers and never come out. BUT - reality is and reality sucks - we have to accept this and thats that!! AND I HATE THAT....

GRANDMA'S

Just a quick post to say that my friend Lise, Karen and myself are going to have a grandbaby play date. We all have brand new grandbaby girls; Lisa and Karen's g/babies are about a month older than Arianna. Anyhow we are all getting together with the babes and going for a walk with them and we have promised not to compare who has the cuter g/babe...I will post the pictures after we meet... (I can't wait)!!