Cosette This Weekend, Ollie This Week

There are a few things I want to share but there's no logic or order to them so we'll call this a "random stuff" blog post.

Last Wednesday, on our way home from the hearing, these deer ran across the road in front of us in the same place they ALWAYS cross. It's not that we haven't seen deer anywhere else in our neck of the woods but this particular spot is ten times more reliably a spot of  "Deer Xing". The baby deer were about the size of a dog. Super cute! And taken through a windshield at a long distance.

Living here never gets old.

Since my court date I've been through a big old long exclamation point of misery that completely validates the judge's decision. It's not like I thought winning would immediately make life better (because that's not logical, is it?) but in a way it seemed like having that struggle behind me plus having some validation from the judge would make life... better. Seriously. I completely accept that as convoluted thinking but honestly, it's a bit of a let down to realize that the pain is still a constant companion.

I have been just a tad bit more social over the past few days, though. My Aunt and Uncle brought their RV up here and have spent the past week exploring things around here and visiting with us. Saturday night we had dinner with them, Jim and Angie and the girls, Austin and Tasha and Cosette. I did a lot of holding Cosette and took like, zero photos of the gathering. Angie got a few that are really sweet and I know she'll make good use of them. She does a photo calendar for us every year and it's always fun to look back at events like Saturday night. I was atypically social and stayed upstairs for way, way longer than was comfortable. Cosette had a busy day Saturday so she was a little fussy and my mom and I took turns (i.e. stole her from each other) holding her. I sat in some uncomfortable places and was beyond exhausted at the end of the night but I got some great quality visiting time in with the fam. And, of course, had fun with my nieces.

Sunday my "other son" Josh and his wife Megan came up to meet Cosette. Josh is a friend of my sons' from way back when. He's probably in more family photos than I am! Cosette was delighted to meet them. No really. She was. Actually she was still tired from the day before and had three decent naps cuddled up with Nana. I love seeing her grin and be outgoing but I also really love having her squished up against me napping. She likes soft people and I am really soft! I tried several times to get a "framer" of Cosette with Josh or Cosette with Megan and... well, I'll let you see...

She did this with her Uncle Ryan when she met him... wouldn't make eye contact with him. Notice how long her legs are?
 and in this one, you'd think she was focused on the picture taker but, no... she's looking at the tv behind me.

Then there's this one with Megan. I cropped Megan out because she wasn't thrilled with this one. I get it. I've had more pictures of all my chins and all my rolls than I'm comfortable with lately. Cosette was briefly being sweet and smiley and then...


"Just hurry up and take the picture, Nana!". Megan looks lovely in this one, though. Cosette handles picture time like her dad does... "get it over with".  Cosette seems to be developing a little touch of "stranger danger". She took one look at Uncle Bubba (Jim) Saturday night and started wailing. She is very adept at communicating her feelings!

At any rate... this is a good one of Josh and Megan and Cosette isn't screaming so we're going to call this one "success".

My Aunt and Uncle got her a little tummy time play thing - which she hasn't quite mastered yet - and her first little baby doll. We named the doll Eponine. If you're not familiar with Les Miserables, Cosette is the heroine of the story and Eponine is her rival and foster sister, of sorts. Eponine (the doll) is just the right size for Cosette to cuddle. I've posted a half dozen pictures of Cosette and Eponine between Facebook and Instagram. Here's one more because it's just so cute!

She's gotten where she really love skin to skin contact. She cuddles best if I've got a short sleeve shirt on where she can lay her head on my bare arm. She also reaches up to touch whatever bare skin she can. I've been working on teaching her sign language for "milk" which is like making a fist with your thumb side on top and squeezing, like if you were milking a cow. Any time she's hungry I ask, "do you want milk?" and I squeeze her hand in mine. Austin thinks that's why she reaches up to squeeze bare skin when you cuddle her. I don't know but I'd be thrilled to know she's already communicating that way.

Have you ever tried to type with a cat putting his paws between your hands and the keyboard? Not. Easy. Apparently Little Kitty needs some attention today. Maybe he's caught on that I'm leaving him for a few days. My Aunt and Uncle are heading back down South tomorrow and I couldn't imagine a better way to travel than in an RV so my mom and I are hitching a ride and going to spend a few days with Oliver and his parents. I haven't seen him since he was a day old so I am beyond excited to have some good bonding time with him! Pop will come pick us on later on this week. I'm really drained today and battling some nasty pain but I can curl up in Cody's recliner as well as I can curl up in mine and just can't pass up the opportunity to spend time with Oliver without having to make the hundred mile drive to his house and back. I'm still really eager to get both of my grandbabies in the same place but I'm being patient. For now.

How cute is this picture of Austin and Cosette sleeping in the exact same position?

I've been trying to wrap my head around all the things that have happened this year. It's mindboggling how much things have changed! And... it's also weird how much is still the same despite the drastic changes from this year. I'm keeping a "wish list" on my phone of things I want to buy when I finally start getting my disability. The judge said it would take 4-6 weeks for him to write up his decision so I know it will be that long plus however much longer it takes for the checks to start coming. My disability is backdated to March 2013 but it looks like, based on my internet research, that the checks don't start until six months after the date of disability. So assuming it's September or October (and I hope not much longer) before I get my initial payout, I'll have about two years of pay coming. The lawyer gets his chunk, I intend to repay my parents as much as I can and I've got some dental work that I've been putting off that has to be done before I end up drinking all of my food. After that there will be a little mad money for me and my kids/grandkids. Medicare kicks in after two years of receiving disability which would be September/October-ish so I've got to do some research on how that will work and if my current doctors accept it. But honestly, it doesn't feel real yet.

And... I guess that's about it for now. It's been a Pajama Monday for me because today is a "barely functioning" day for me. Recovering from the weekend and resting up for the week and excited to take lots of Ollie pictures! I'll be sure to share! Thanks for reading, love and hugs, y'all!