Day 116/365 (November 10, 2014)

Got up super early to run a few errands before the funeral. Karen and I had to go pick up food from Michael's. go to Dunkin Donuts to get the coffee and munchkins, then drop off all of that to the church before heading to the funeral home.

The funeral was difficult and lots of tears were shed but it was a nice service even if the pastor kept singing. It was nice of the family to put aside their drama for a few hours and come together as one.

After the funeral we went to the church for the reception and the church lady that helped set everything up put me and Karen to work. I am pretty sure she ended up not liking me but whatever. I couldn't believe I was made to help serve everybody, this was as much for me as everyone else but she was a scary lady.

After it was all over we came back to my mom's and then people started coming over in droves to see Grandpa. I did have probably the longest conversation I have ever had with Grandpa at one point which was nice, and Tessa wanted to read me stories. It ended up being so loud and chaotic and Colson bit me. Luckily i had a sleeve protecting me or he would have broken the skin!

Eventually Karen and I said our goodbyes and went over to my Auntie Margaret's to get a good night's sleep before our early morning travels the next day, since neither of us had been sleeping well while in MA.

Day 115/365 (November 9, 2014)

I basically consumed small amounts of liquor all day... not one of my finer moments but it helped get through the day without hurting anyone. The morning started off with Karen and I joining my cousin Maureen (Mo) and Katie for breakfast. It was a much needed happy way to start a non-happy day.

We got back to my moms and after a tiny bit of time we got ready to head to the wake. It was difficult seeing my Nana in the casket and it took me a long time before I could bring myself to go up there to say goodbye. I am so thankful Karen had been with me, she was a great help for me and my family this whole time.

After the wake had ended we went to pickup the food to have for the reception after the funeral at Donelan's. There were so many trays of food. I also had to take on the coffee and munchkin responsibility because people were making it way too difficult. I had mostly Fireball in Apple flavored water all day, but ended it with this flavored Bailey's that tasted like a cherry cordial.

Day 111/365 (November 5, 2014)

The day started off fine and then i found out my nana had died. Needless to say my day was not good. I forced myself to go to work and get things done so I could head to MA with a clear head. Karen decided to come with me so we left later that night... this is Sophie, always nice to see my mom's cat.

Day 108365 (November 2, 2014)

The day involved training, and going to the gym, and foolishly going to Trader Joe's. Then during the day I did a minor apartment tidy, a bunch of laundry, and a bazillion dishes. I even brought down the down comforter and remade my bed since it had gotten chilly. I got some good news on the Nana front, she came out of her coma in the morning. I woke up with the boys flanked by me. I spent the rest of the day working on clearing off the DVR and watching TV... at one point i went to take a picture of Fred and Karen thought I was going to take a picture of us so I did that also.

Day 107365 (November 1, 2014)

It was the day of the party. It was also not so much a good day and a good one at the same time.  I started by doing cake ball prep and then my mom called to say Nana wasn't doing too well and they thought she might die at any moment. Needless to say I was pretty upset. She ended up slipping into a coma later in the day. I feel so helpless and torn, but I don't handle emotions very well so I find it best to turn them off and compartmentalize. Luckily the party provided a good distraction. I made the chai cake balls and had fun splattering them with colors like Sasha wanted. Sasha and Karen did an excellent job of turning our apartment into Wonderland. I really remarkable job! The boys even dressed up, well Fred had a few costume changes, Charlie wasn't as cooperative but I love my behind the scenes shot of a kitty costume photo shoot! They even got Lola to record quotes from the book in her British accent and had it play in between the background music... donezo!

we played mao, psychiatrist, mafia, and just had a really fun time. Hope's white rabbit costume was AMAZING, as was Laura's Cheshire cat makeup. I enjoyed being Alice in Wonderland and Monique was Alice also, haha. I think me chasing Hope is one of the greatest pictures! I did stuff my face with all of the wonderful food... the macarons (those burger things) were a hit as were the cake balls. Sasha couldn't wait to try the macarons.

Day 99/365 (October 24, 2014)

I got a much later start than I was expecting while heading out to MA, but thankfully there was only one spot where i voided major traffic and was able to take a different road so I had smooth sailing. I love singing at the top of my lungs when alone in the car! Please note how much stuff i packed to go away for one night! In my defense a great deal of it was my baking stuff for cake making/decorating.

Let me tell you Colson is one of the most energetic 2 year old boys I have ever met. He wanted me to follow him around and sit everywhere and kept grabbing my hand and melting my heart. After a couple hours I had just enough time to say hi to Tessa before having to go take my mother speed shopping because her ride fell through. The last thing I needed to add to my day was that but I had to because she needed stuff for the party. I made us do shopping very fats and attempted to upgrade my phone but of course they were sold out for the day so I failed! I also found out my Nana was placed in a nursing home that morning since she is becoming very difficult to care for because she is getting very violent, and of course that means there is much family drama.

Then I got back to Becky's and had a sleepover with Tessa that involved her helping me bake the cakes for Colson's party and playing Life on my phone. I even had some time to chat with Becky which was nice since I do miss her lots, but it was nice having a few moments to myself before going to bed to unwind since i was extremely strssed and overwhelmed today

Day 45/365 (August 31. 2014)

Barely any sleep! Since I was up so late the night before I only ended up with about 2 hours and 15 minutes worth of sleep before heading out to Mega Bus to head to MA. Thankfully the bus ride was swift and I fell asleep for just about 2 hours, we even arrived right on time, but sadly my ride got lost on the way there so I didn't get picked up until 25 minutes later.

I finally made it back to Ayer and spent some time with Nana and Grandpa  and my mother before taking a much needed extended nap. I woke up as Samantha, Mike, and new baby Xavier arrived. He is a total cutey and I got to hold him for a very long time! A bunch of people came over too to see him, including Becky and the kids. When Sam and Mike had to leave Becky kidnapped me and we went grocery shopping before heading back to her place. I go to spend some good quality time with her, Colson, Tessa, and Mike. We made dinner and then watched Blended in their home movie theater which is complete with a vending machine, it is pretty cool! It turns out Blended is a pretty funny movie.

Then it was back to my mom's for a tiny bit of sleep.

Day 25/365 (August 11, 2014)

Such an early morning! The three of us got up early and packed the car, then headed back out on the road to come home. We made a little stop at my mom's to pick something up from her and had a visit with my nana, grandpa, mom, my cousin pammy, and the cute kitty Sophie.

Then it was back on the road... we made great time until NYC when we hot some bad traffic. It was so nice to finally get back home and see the boys! I have been doing all the laundry from the trip and some arts and crafts.

The first thing we did when we got home was watch last night's Big Brother since we missed it!