Adjusting

Today was a weird day. Actually last night was weird too. It is so odd to only have CJ in the house. It brings me back to the summer in NC when Nathan and Larissa came to RI for the summer. I think CJ is feeling this impact much more though. He just got over Larissa leaving and now Nathan isn’t there either. I am sure he will be fine. I want him to learn that this is what happens. People grow up, they take steps to better themselves and I will always support your decisions.

 

Anyways, today is Day 2 of Job Corp. He has decided to try Welding as his first trade. I hear the teacher for welding is amazing. She is eighty years old…I am not kidding…but she looks like she is 40. That is what the kids told me anyways. He seems to be settling in ok but he is a boy with very little words. I have to ask lots of questions and of course, I get one word answers back. I did get a call from his Career Counselor today. Her name is Joanna Norton and I tried to call her back but got her voicemail. I hope to talk to her tomorrow. She will probably have more information for me than Nathan did.

 

Larissa is doing good. She has been applying for jobs to get a better paying job than the restaurant she currently works at. Her and Nina are slowly making the apartment their own. She wants to have Mason’s 1^st birthday party here in RI. I have no issues with that other than I think she should be concentrating on saving her money instead of spending it. What do I know though, I am just mom. It’s like I have ever been through this. She will figure it all out on her own though. I will be here to support her decisions even if I don’t always agree with them. If she is anything like me, she needs to learn on her terms.

 

Missing my babies but for such a good reason. I want the best for both of them. I hope they follow their dreams and make them all come true. Love all three of my babies to the moon and back. And now my grandbaby too !

Job Corp...and catching up

Today was another emotional day for me. CJ and I dropped Nathan off at Job Corp today. I want this to be everything he needs and wants. It seems such a perfect fit for him and he is so excited about it. This is such a great step for him. For me, this is a huge step in letting one of babies grow up. I didn’t realize how NOT ready I was to let him go but I know that I have to allow him to spread his wings and fly. I have sheltered him for too long. I have babied him and it has not helped him, I can admit that. I acknowledge that. I am probably part of the problem. That is what makes this program so great. I think that actually being away from me will allow him to grow and become the young man that I know he can be.

 

Larissa has moved to NC with Mason. Another emotional…very emotional…time for me. It’s the best thing for her. She needs to learn how to provide for herself and Mason. She needs to stand on her own two feet and stop letting other people come in the way of making her dreams come true. It is hard for me to have her so far away and not be able to be part of her everyday life but seeing how happy her and Mason are make all worthwhile. She sends me daily pics and videos that make me feel so much closer to them both. They have moved in with Nina and they share an apartment in a nice complex. I am so proud of the girls and the steps they have taken.

 

CJ started a new summer program. It was due to financial hardship but it was the best thing. It’s a free summer program through Lincoln Parks and Recs. We just pay for all the field trips, which we were paying for anyways at the YMCA even with our weekly fee. He loves it. I don’t know why we didn’t try it sooner. Actually we didn’t think he was ready but this year was the perfect time. Ironically, we are moving so this will most likely be the last year, which sucks. Since I just mentioned the move, let’s talk about the move. The new house is in Johnston. That means that CJ has to change schools and will need to make new friends. I am nervous about this. I was just as nervous when Nathan and Larissa had to go through it and now I am going through it all over again. I really hope that he adjusts well. He usually makes friends easily but he doesn’t adjust as quickly as I would like because of his shyness. I am praying that it all goes great.

 

So yeah, we are moving to new home. A new chapter in our lives. A move to Johnston. Not the other side of the country or even state. All of 15-20 minutes from where we are now but definitely a change for us all. Still working on the arrangements for the house and how to make it work best for us. I think this is a good move for us. It will save us a good amount of money on rent alone and then we will be saving on heat since it’s a smaller place too. It is all new and exciting. I have very few pics and they are the ones from the listing so I don’t have many to share but once we get the keys, I will make sure to share. We get to move in August 1st. That is just around the corner and we haven’t even started packing yet…yikes !

Another good-bye

What an emotional day. Seems like I have more and more of these now. I took Mason and Larissa to the airport to go back to NC. You would think that I would be starting to get used to this but it’s still hard. I love seeing them. I am so happy for their lives in NC. I wouldn’t want them to be back here living in the hell they were living in, waiting for the other shoe to fall. They are so much better off in NC. But it’s hard seeing them go. It’s hard seeing my little girl go off with her son in her arms. It still doesn’t feel real. I mean she is my little girl, how does she have a child of her own. She has come a long way, she still has a long way to go. Parenting is a journey that never ends. It still brings me new things with each turn, even now. I hope one day you can look back and appreciate all that I have done for you and can see all the love behind all of my decisions. That is all that any parent truly wants.

 

CJ was so disappointed to see them gone. He kept asking me when are they coming back. It’s tough because he doesn’t understand. I know that he will get over it. He had the same reaction when Larissa first moved out of the house. Those two definitely have a bond that can’t be broken. CJ loves his Mimi.

New Chapter

Wow. All I can say is WOW. Our wedding was amazing. Our wedding was everything we wanted and then some. It was beautiful, it was happy, it was emotional, it was filled with all those we love. I look back and smile. Not a thing I would change. No regrets. Things went wrong (not much), people couldn’t make it (not too many) and things were forgotten (missing pictures with some people we would have loved to have) but in the end, it was a great day filled with love and happiness.

 

When we started planning our wedding, it was far from where we ended up. We went from doing something here, to eloping in Vegas, to doing a destination wedding, back to here. We jumped around from state to state, up and down the eastern seaboard…and ended up back in RI. The last place we thought we would be getting married and yet it was perfect. The guest list gave me some nightmare’s for sure. I went over it and over it until we had the perfect number of people and the perfect people to watch us take the next step of our lives.

Happy New Year

Elf on the Shelf Day 28

Mario was gone this morning but we found this sweet little note on the Christmas tree this morning. CJ was sad to not have Mario around.

 

Elf on the Shlef Day 27

Today is Mario's last day with us and he brought CJ a treat from Mrs Claus. I personally don't like marshmallows so I don't know how yummy these are but CJ ate them all up himself.