catching up....

disclaimer: i'm trying to catch up. this should be 3 or 4 separate posts. instead, i'm doing 1 big post that may have absolutely zero flow. get over it.

ok, now where do i start?? suppose i should start with this past friday, almost a week ago. the morning started out with a creepy playdate. by creepy playdate i mean a playdate with a fab group of ladies who are known as The Creeps. and i mean fab. we all met recently, yet i know i will be friends with them forever. seriously. we had an amazing time with all the kids. matt & maddy even came to play (see mattlogelin.com for more). it was so much fun.

everyone minus 2 kids

me & miss m

that night, rae & i went to target for her new backpack! and of course, she had to get one i absolutely cannot stand! but that's raegan!! then i met my sister so i could bring her kids back to my house for the night. they are awesome. c read most of the time. e read books to beast even after my crazyassfoxdog tried to bite his head off (anyone interested? he's free).

the kids jumping on the air mattress

saturday was a day to relax after all the fun friday. and i had to get geared up for sunday.

we had the 1st ever liz goodman logelin memorial 5k at lake calhoun. it was AMAZING. so many people showed up to support matt, maddy, & the families. we raised a lot of money to help other widows/widowers. i know that next year's 5k will raise even more. we are really making a difference & i am so blessed to be part of it!!

matt, maddy, & the mn creeps

the 5k participants

some of the creeps hung out for awhile after the 5k & even went to liz's parents' house. that family, along with matt's, is AMAZING. i can't say that enough. they have welcomed the creeps into their lives & we are all thankful (yes, i know i can speak for all of them when i say that).

ok......done with the weekend.

can't think of anything that happened monday, tuesday, or wednesday actually.

on to thursday.....9/25. to most people 9/25 is just another day on the calendar. to me, it's the anniversay of the worst day of my life. 12 years ago my grandma died. she was the most loving, understanding, generous woman i've ever known. she lived 69 years, but her life was much too short. plagued with health issues, she always had a smile. she was fiesty. she was everything i could only dream of being. she will never meet matt. she will never meet rae & beast. and it breaks my heart. mattie will never know my role model although he's heard so much about her. and the kids will never meet their fabulous great-grandmother. i don't mean to take away from their other great-grandparents by any means. they have others they will never meet. all of whom i love dearly. they just lost another this past february. it was awful. but not quite as awful as september 25, 1996 and the days that followed.

aside from dealing with that, i was also dealing with rae's 1st day of preschool. this actually went much better than i expected!! she got to sleep in and spend some time with me before going. she picked out her own clothes, got herself dressed, & donned her backpack. we drove to the early childhood center, waited for her teachers to get there, & off she went. she didn't even say goodbye. just marched right on in like the big girl she is.

all ready to go

all buckled in

and i DIDN'T cry!!!! (applaud here)

when i picked her up she was all smiles. she told me all about her day. she was SO excited.

we came back home for a bit, picked up beast at daycare, & headed for dance class. the 1st of many busy thursdays to come, but we survived....so far at least!!

1 down, a million milestones to go......