Liquid Sunshine...

... otherwise known as rain, but it has felt more like liquid sunshine today for the most part. The kids, my mom and I all took a field trip to IKEA today. It was a great indoor activity, we stayed dry, we wandered around, we listened to and watched airplanes (IKEA is nearly at the end of the Portland Airport landing strip), we ate lunch, walked around some more and then came home. That was our plan for today, fairly simple - the kids were so good. R snuggled the entire time in his Ergo carrier belly to belly with me, periodically grabbing my cheeks and planting kisses on me. Once he did bonk my nose, drawing tears from my eyes, but that was a small price to pay for literally hours of scream free, wiggle free shopping. K was a trooper, riding in the cart or walking right beside us with minimal touching (that's a big thing for her). They both were rewarded for their outstanding behavior, which is rare... (the reward, not the good behavior). K picked out an incredibly soft stuffed cat and R picked out a wooden train set. He got very nervous any time it was out of his sight and made SURE that it was going to be coming home with us. So, no, that may not seem like a big outing but every step towards "normalcy" feels great.

Once we got home, I checked the mail and I had TWO cards from some lovely ladies. I'm not sure if they conspired together or not but both cards had a packet of wildflower seeds. I'm sure the rain will stop falling at some point and I can't wait to add them to my flower garden! Thank you so much, L & T, for adding a bright point to my day and a HUGE smile to my face.

Another bright spot... tonight is date night! This is not a regular event, in fact, I do not remember the last date that Jim and I had. So, in just a short bit, we'll be leaving to go out to dinner. There will be no booster seats or high chairs involved or balloons or scarfing down dinner before either little one decides that it's time to go home - NOW! Beyond that we have no plans for tonight. It'll be kind of fun to just go with the flow and see where we end up!

So, though it's been rainy, it's been liquid sunshine. It feels good to get back out in to the world and let my mind drift in a million different directions about a ton of pointless stuff at times. It was a little difficult when we were out today. The last time we were at IKEA was to get new dressers for the kids' room since we were preparing the upstairs for a bedroom swap in order to get the nursery back in shape and there were a ton of newborns and pregnant women. I wasn't jealous though which was a relief, I just think I noticed them more than I would have otherwise. My head has been filled a bit with thoughts of little Ethan (that I linked to last night, exactly 12 hours, to the minute before he passed in to eternity). My thoughts and prayers are certainly with his family tonight as their entire world as they have known it has changed.