Oh look, It's already Thursday...

So last week I blogged three posts in three days. Unsurprisingly, I was EXTREMELY proud of myself. I also figured it was the start of something magical...

That was over a week ago, and there has been nothing on this site but crickets.

Sorry about that.

Things got... busy.  First, the plague managed to visit our house. Something that we are still not completely over. I came down with an upper respiratory infection last week and Henry ended up with pink eye AND his own virus by the beginning of this week.  WE have been pitiful.  PITIFUL I TELL YOU.

Add in that work is insanely busy with a huge grant application due early next week and the fact that midterms are fast approaching and, well, the good old blog is the first thing to go. Or, maybe cleaning the house and cooking are the first things to go. THEN blogging.

But, on the bright side, Henry has been regularly dressing like this...

I mean, I did not think I could love him more... I was wrong. 

 

Pinstripe

So you all know how we love the South Carolina cousins, right? But I rarely talk about how cool they actually are in their real lives outside of the weekends we spend together.  But, you know, there is a time and place for everything. And turns out NOW is the time and place to talk about Thomas! Thomas is cool enough to make video games, which, come on, is pretty amazing.  And he is about to release his game Pinstripe, which he has created completely on his own. I don't know if you know anything about making video games (I didn't before this) but it is extremely rare to do it ALL yourself. He created the story, the artwork, the music... this game is 100% Thomas, and that is just incredible.


I have been hearing about this game for years and I CANNOT WAIT to play.  And I am not the only one who cannot wait. It isn't like this game is just something the family plans to download and play. This game is amazing, and it's getting attention. He had a film crew come and actually do a documentary on him! ON THOMAS!  How cool is that?? And then this documentary was like, SHOWN at a big gaming event! That had FAMOUS PEOPLE AT IT LIKE LUKE SKYWALKER.

But before Pinstripe can be released, there are a lot of odds and ends that must be completed. With that, he decided to open a Kickstarter to help get him to the finish line. So, if you are interested in gaming, or just supporting cool indi projects, click on over and take a look. And, if you wouldn't mind, make a little donation to help get Pinstripe officially out to the masses. Thomas has poured his heart and soul into this game.  I can't really put into words how much it means to him, but by association, it has started to mean a lot to me too. So any support is truly appreciated!

***UPDATE*** I actually wrote this post yesterday when I made our family donation, but postponed having it go live until today since I had already posted and two posts in one day is Insane. WELL, turns out Pinstripe is causing quite the stir! It managed to reach it's original fundraising goal in less than 24 hours!

PINSTRIPE IS AMAZING! (and so are you, Thomas)

But there are of course stretch goals, which include bringing the game to mobile platforms, so donations are still absolutely welcome! Click on over and see what the fuss is all about :)

I am so thrilled to see Thomas achieving his dreams. Please click on over and check out this beautiful game.

 

Wedding Bells

So we have some pretty big family news around these parts...

 Aunt Candice and (UNCLE!) Lucas have decided to get married, and we could not be more excited to celebrate. We have hit the ground running with dress appointments and planning sessions... it's going to be madness, but it's also going to be WONDERFUL. 

So, congratulations, Candice and Lucas. You two are awesome.

Let's celebrate.

Harry Potter (again... FOREVER!)

So this blog might just turn into a place where I do nothing but geek out over Henry's love for Harry Potter. Consider yourself warned.

We finished the first book.  HE LOVED IT SO MUCH.  You know the part where you find out who the bad guy really is?  HE FREAKED OUT.  And you know the OTHER part where YOU KNOW WHO Shows himself?? YEAH. THAT WAS CRAZY. And he was SO SO into it.  It was just, GAH. I AM LOVING IT SO MUCH!

Once we were at the end we went to sign him up for Pottermore, but I must admit I was a little disappointed with the site. Maybe you all know this already, but they have SERIOUSLY changed Pottermore, and not at all for the better. You used to be able to work your way through each book, earn house points, make potions... IT WAS AMAZING. And while I didn't really have time for it, I always looked forward to the day when Henry could play on there. Now it's just... I don't even know. It's just a website. I mean, it's neat that it has extra info from JK Rowling on details of the story, but I wanted Henry to experience the magic of the old Pottermore. All games are gone, all potion making and house points are gone. You do still get sorted and get a wand, which is neat, I just wanted MORE.  Anyway, Henry took his test to get sorted and his wand VERY SERIOUSLY.   Turns out, my boy is extremely brave indeed.

When it popped up he whispered "I didn't even know I was brave. Sometimes I get scared of new things."

I told him that being brave is more about doing things even when they scare you than about not being scared. We talked about how brave he is when he plays baseball or answers questions in class. We talked about how he defends those he loves and always stands up for what is right.  He looked at me, very serious, and says "I think I DO want to try that green pepper!" which I had offered for him to try at dinner.  So he did. and he liked it.  We have now gotten him to try about ten new foods by mentioning the Gryffindor connection. (Harry Potter... making parenting easier since 1997). He really thought he would be Ravenclaw (like his Mama) so that took some adjusting, but now he points out "Well, Hermione is the smartest witch in the school, and SHE is Gryffindor!"

That's my boy :)

Anyway, after the book and the sorting on Pottermore it was time for the movie. We watched the first half last night, and he LOVES it. He was just so tickled with everything about it, and he kept telling me as we moved through different parts "This part is in the chapter "The Keeper of the Keys".  Or Ohh, now we are to chapter "The Midnight Duel".

This morning he came running up to me as I worked on the computer and said he thought he heard mail get dropped off. This is what I found by the door.

And the letter inside....

 The present was his very own owl, which, surprisingly, he named Hedwig.

 Good lord, I love him so.
 

A Potter Valentine

How adorable are Henry's Valentine's?

We are on the last chapter of Sorcerers Stone. Loving it so much!


 

Embracing Grief

I decided late last week to take yesterday off work. I have learned over the last couple of years that, no matter how prepared I feel for it, February 8th is a very difficult day. 

When I woke up, I felt the tears in my eye and I was so happy that I allowed myself this time. Time to think of how much I miss her, to think of how unfair it all truly is.  I don't always do that.  You can't live drowning in grief, so while I always miss her, I don't often let myself be taken with the weight of the at loss.  Yesterday, I did. Not all day, but for a little while, I let myself embrace my grief.

I read over some of the blog posts surrounding those difficult days. I read over what we wrote for her service, and watched the video of pictures of her amazing life. I read over posts from a year after we lost her, and ones from two years.  I looked at the pictures from the #GreyforMissy days and I thought about how much love continues to flood our way as I read messages of love and support sent to me yesterday.

I let myself grieve for all I have lost. For all she has lost.  And I know not everyone needs that, that many people who lose a loved one shy away from pictures and heartbreaking words because it is just too hard. But I find I need that time. I need to let myself think about how deeply sad I am that she is not here. 

Henry was home sick yesterday, which was not part of the plan, but worked out just fine. He watched the video with me and asked lots of questions about his Aunt Mimi.  We talked about her, we laughed, I cried.  It was... I don't know. It was what I needed on a very hard day.

Thank you to those who reached out.  Thank you to those who didn't, but who thought of us over these last few days.  I know as time passes, this grief does not stay with others the way it stays with those closest to her. I understand that life moves forward, and I almost feel like it is odd to come back to this place and write again and again about my heartbreak. But I think in our society people become afraid to say "Still... I am still heartbroken.  I am okay, I am living life, I am happy.  But I am forever heartbroken."  I don't know why people don't say that. Maybe it's because they think people won't understand.  I guess I don't care if everyone understands. 

I still miss her. I am still heartbroken.

Always.
 

Three Years

Monday will be three years. It is hard to even begin to wrap my mind around that fact.

As with all things I guess, the grief over these last three years has gotten easier. Not because I miss her less, but because I have grown more accustom to the missing.

But on these days, days like Monday or even days like today, days full of heartbreaking memories, I get sucked back into the depths of that grief.

Yesterday Henry and I were walking to get candy for his Valentines and I said something about his Aunt Mimi.  He asked me how old Aunt Mimi was when she died, and I said she was 30.  "How is that even possible?" he asked. I just looked at him and said "I don't know baby. Sometimes it happens, but it is very rare."

Sometimes people die too soon. I wish he didn't have to know that. I wish I didn't either.
 

X-files

Wow, a week since I last posted? 

Oh well.  Moving on!

So are you all watching the X-files? BECAUSE WE ARE.  You may or may not remember, but Nick and I are die hard fans of the old x-files.  We actually binge watched the entire series back before binge watching was a thing. We got all the DVDs in the mail from netflix.  We didn't stream it because it was also before netflix streaming was a thing.

WE ARE GETTING SO OLD.

Anyway, we were so excited when they announced the X-files was coming back. We started rewatching the entire series (Streaming... the wave of the future) and made it to middle of season four before we lost steam.  Still, it was enough to reignite the love.

So now we are three episodes in to the six episode season and all I can think is that it's such a rip off that we only get SIX episodes. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THE OLD SEASONS WERE? I will tell you, they were 25 episodes. TWENTY FIVE. So now they make us wait over ten years for a new season, only to give us six little episodes?  COME ON FOX. (the network... and also Fox Mulder. I think you have some power, sir)

Anyway, so far so good in my opinion. I thought the first episode was good, but maybe a little rusty? Or maybe they were reaching a little too far? I am not sure. I assume it's hard to bring a series back from the dead after you have a series finally in 2002 that tried to answer all the series questions... and when that answer was DECEMBER 21, 2012 You have yourself a problem.  Still, I was totally bought in, but at the same time, wasn't 100% sold on episode one.  But episodes two and three... man, I have loved them both. I have be not just wanting to believe, but TOTALLY 100% BELIEVING.  I love this show. I just hope they bring it back for another season after these six little episodes are over.  I am not ready for it to be over again so soon.

 Anyone else watching?