On Friday we passed through another parenting rite of passage. It was a tricky one, but not awful. Wanna know what it was? Let’s call it the, “there’s something up my nose” rite of passage. In our case, a nut. Now before you imagine a huge shelled peanut up Milesy’s tiny little nose, I will clarify that this was a nut of the “nuts and bolts” variety. Ryan and Miles came up from the basement and Ryan said, “I think we need to talk to mommy.” I initially panicked, but got it together quite quickly. Then we couldn’t figure out if we should call the doctor, or try to get the thing out ourselves. I kept an eye on Miles while Ryan looked for the proper extracting tools. I started to get pretty nervous at the thought of us trying to extract something from one of our child’s orifices so I called my […]
My friend Emily is an excellent photographer. She is quite the talent at this endeavor. I just wanted to mention this in case you’d like some really cool lookin‘ pics. Click on her name to see her totally awesome web-site. Now on to the BIG news of the day… ASHER HAS ENTERED THE LAND OF THE CHEWING!!!He has three teeth coming in at once. Poor guy. But gettin‘ it all done quickly, I guess. I had been feeling his gums all morning, thinking something may be happening. But I’ve been thinking that for about three months. Then Katie came over. She was with Asher when I went to pick up Miles from school. When I got back she said she could see one and a half teeth coming in. And you can feel one on the other side too. I couldn’t believe that within one morning they popped out. It’s so crazy! Babies […]
Today Asher got some sun near a window (long winter, we’re desperate for Vitamin D…and sanity.) Miles got to go outside at school today and go sledding. He was WORN OUT when he got home. He had a good nap and was NOT worn out anymore. So he pretended he was a duck… …and also pretended that he was a monster with a laundry basket on his head. All I had to do was throw cheese at him to “save the dave,” but I didn’t know that at first….until he told me, and then I fended him off with “cheese” and he went away.These boys are really something, always keeping me laughing. Just now, after he went to bed, Miles was crying out, “Hey! I can’t find my kid!!!” We had no idea what he was talking about. I thought he was crying out, “hey, I can’t find my pig.” Ryan went in […]
First of all, I was looking over my last post and I thought, “gross, I sound so proud of myself…” I really didn’t intend to, that’s not how I feel, but it sounds like it. I’m all, “I used to do this and that good and wonderful thing. I was such a great person and I still am!” Puke. Sorry that you had to read that. Sometimes I think “out loud” and forget to clarify my thought process. If there really ever is a “process” for me, I’m not sure.Now moving on…I said I might write about marriedness.Let me start by saying I am slow to mature and constantly in need of adjustments. Today, with this topic, I will not go on and on with accolades about me. No way. My husband would get a good laugh if I did, but that’s not the only reason why. I guess it’s partially because I’ve […]
Before I was a mom, I was a lot of things. I was a wife, a full-time employee, an available friend and family member. I was focused on getting exercise and I read a lot of books. I was a care-giver to people in need and I made it to church nearly every Sunday. I went to movies a lot and out to eat even more. I faithfully visited my grandpa at the nursing home, every Saturday or Sunday that I was in town, without fail. That person I’m describing is still me, what drove me to live that life is still what I am made of, I just don’t have as much time for all of the things I used to do. I still visit grandpa as much as I can, and I do get to go out to eat with friends as my “escape.” But I don’t generally make it to […]
First comes dinner… Asher decides AGAINST avocado; Miles is all FOR ice cream; Then comes bath… No worries, he gets his haircut today; The bliss of the afterbath; Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
This is Super Miles (obviously) wearing his cape (or “case,” as he likes to call it – it’s a burp cloth) and his “super sock,” tucked into his pj pants. He “flies” around the house, saying things like, “Be in trouble, mommy, I will rescue you from the giant!!!” This is Mr.Blue Eyes. Those eyes’ll get me every time. “When you reach the proper age, I will teach you to read and you can turn the pages. How to dress and tie your shoes. Your one plus ones and your two times twos. And you’ll teach me of hearts and dreams and all the most important things. And all that I have lost along the way. And I can’t wait. As you grow, I’ll show you things. How to ride your bike and kick your legs out on the swings. To fold your hands and bow your head, how to say your prayers […]
Today was one of those days I did nothing productive. In the sense of “around the house” productive anyway. If we’re talking productively socializing, then I was super ambitious! I called Kate in the morning and asked her to come for coffee, which happened to last until almost three. (I love it that she and I are the same in that we can just sit and talk and figure we’ve been domestically productive enough lately.) We’re a good team, making lunch and sharing kiddo duty, all the while chatting away. I love it so much I can’t even stand it. She even does the dishes!Kim called and asked if she and baby Malayna could stop by, to which I replied, “OF COURSE!” So they got here around 1:30 and hung out until 3:30. Then Ryan and the boys and I got in the car and headed to Mackenzie and Caleb’s for dinner and […]
This is our dog, Tia Maria. She is dreaming of her high-dive position. She is a really good dog. She has had to put up with being dethroned by two screaming, drooling, tail pulling boys. But sometimes she does naughty things to try to get the attention back on her. Like eating bibs or small plastic toys. Or the ear off a brand new puppy stuffed animal a friend sent to Miles. Had she not ripped his poor unsuspecting ear off, it would have been impossible for Miles to do this: Take note of the poor, sad puppy in the corner, earless and alone.It is hard for this dear pup to feel sad because he has no brains left in his head. I went in to check on our dear son after he fell asleep. I had wondered what had been so exciting in there, hearing him giggle and squeal and talk for […]
A fellow blogging mom from AZ inspired me to make a list. A list of 100 things that I’m grateful for. Or simply good things in my life/things I love. I read through her list and felt the need to make my own. It will be a good reminder, especially during this winter that seems to never end, to look at life differently. To realize that there are at least 100 little beauties in every day, every moment even. So here it goes. I’m sure I’ll have to come back to this about 100 times in order to finish it, but what (or shall I say who) is pulling me away will be good inspiration for “the list.” I’m sure that when I’m done, I’ll finish with describing why the list was so cathartic. #1 (even if daddy looks a bit drunk) 2. How Miles laughs like his daddy. 3. The way Asher […]
I read in a magazine recently that there are MILLIONS and more millions of blog sites out there. It said that most of these on-line journals are written for two people, “the blogger themselves and the blogger’s mother.” I had to laugh cause it’s pretty true. It’s not like many bloggers have hit some sort of famous author status. And if so, it may be possible it will be one of those fifteen minute types of fame. I think about that sometimes because as I’m writing I often forget my words are read by a (small) handful of people. I’m mostly doing this as a journal for my family. I would love the boys to know what they were up to and when. I would also like to be able to look back over all my feelings. I guarantee that I will hardly remember it. I have a pretty short memory for important […]
“MOMMY, I PUT A RUBBER BAND ON MY HEAD!!!”“OKAY, BUT DON’T DO THAT AGAIN, IT COULD GO IN YOUR EYE.” “WHY?” “IT JUST CAN.” “BUT WHY?” “MOM, I’M A BASEBALL HAT ROCK STAR.” “YES, YOU ARE!” Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Here I am with my new haircut. Isn’t it cute? I told you I would look ten pounds lighter! Okay, so it’s not me. It’s Tyra from Friday Night Lights and we now have the same hair. At least the way the stylist made it look. I will never again repeat how she made it look, I’m confident of that, but I got to look like Tyra for a day anyway and that was fun. I can NEVER make my hair look the way the stylists make it look after they cut it. They can give me the tutorial about how to blow dry it, how to use the round brush and what kind of product to put in it, and I still cannot repeat the cuteness. It kind of confuses me actually. I mean how hard can it be? It doesn’t look that hard while they’re doing it. I always have this […]
We blew into my parent’s on Saturday, happy to be off the roads and out of the white-out conditions we adventured. We blew in at the same time as my sister and her family. Miles could not have been more excited to be at “Nanny and Bapa’s.” He really loves it there. He hardly talks to mommy and daddy if he’s there with cousins, Zach and Max. He is way too busy for us! Those boys sure are busy. This morning Miles found my mascara while we were preparing to leave Nanny and Bapa’s. He had it out and had his work done by the time my mom caught him. He did a pretty good job, actually. He said “I look beautiful mommy.” Well, yes, I suppose, but please don’t do that anymore, you could hurt your eyes if you got it in them. “Why?” He really did get it right on his […]
Last night I had the kind of night out that’s rare and simply perfect. My friend Heather and I connected late in the day and decided to get together. She recently moved to the Lake Harriet area and I wanted to see her cute little place. She is in such a great location, right on the lake in a beautiful condo. Crazy sidenote: a childhood friend of ours is right next door. Heather hadn’t seen her in about twenty years, and what do you know? They moved in right next to each other all these years later. I just think that is so cool. The three of us are going to get together soon and catch up on all that’s happened since the seventh grade. That may take awhile.Anyway, Heather had been with said friend to a nearby joint called Barbette and she loved it so much, she took me there last night. […]
My brother-in-law just sent me this photo from Christmas. My parents are in the middle, my sister’s family is on the left and obviously, we’re on the right. My huge head is blocking Ryan quite a bit. It made us realize that our boys might have big heads not only due to the King side, but maybe there are large noggin genes on both sides! Poor Ryan can’t even see over the top of that sucker. Then you take a look at Miles and Asher and see that history has definitely repeated itself! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Take a rest with me mommy!Ryan brought me “you’re doing a good job”flowers: making the kkkkkhhh sound:Carrie recently posted a comment with a quote I love, “While you are trying to teach your children all about life, they teach you how to live.” Or something close to that, anyway. I love that. I guess my lessons from Miles and Asher are pretty simple these days, Rest whenever you can. If possible, with a loved one. Smile a lot and make silly faces to make people feel good. And then there’s my thoughtful husband, taking the time to make me feel appreciated with flowers, a book, and some candy. What a guy. If not for him, I’d surely be in the mommy loony bin. My boys are pretty great, if I do say so myself! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. […]
In the last week or two, Miles has matured like he’s on some kind of steroids for the eager to age. SLOW DOWN, buddy. I can’t even believe some of the concepts he’s beginning to understand and the things he’s saying. He says them as if he’s fifteen. For instance, “NO faaiiirr, MOOOOM.” How does he understand what “no fair” means? Things like that blow my mind. Because if you know someone before they can even speak words and you hang with them daily, you get to see all these new things, and sometimes you just can’t wrap your puny mind around how much they’ve learned.It’s not so much the things he says, but how his voice has changed and how he’s become more and more full of expressive emotion. For instance, tonight I went into my room and noticed the light and ceiling fan weren’t working. Miles came in and said “let […]
MY GLASSES ARRIVED TODAY!!! What kind of person gets overly excited about glasses? ME. It’s something new and different, what can I say? Thanks to Tiff and Grady and their complimentary eye exam and glasses, my right eye is currently breathing a sigh of relief. Tiff said it was doing all the work. And leftie is currently wondering why everything is so clear. I decided that once my glasses came it was time for a make-over. SO, I’m going to get a semi-drastic haircut and possibly color. AND I’m going to wear make-up. Who knows, maybe I’ll even lose ten pounds and have a tan before we know it…. OR, my glasses will miraculously make me LOOK ten pounds lighter and bronzed! Ah, yes, it’s the little things that make my day. I called Lana the minute the UPS truck got here because we’ve both been so excited. She was so happy to […]
I’m usually pretty patient with winter. I don’t know what happened this year, but I’m so done with cold weather. I find myself imagining it warm and thinking of all the things we could do with our time if it were nice outside.One of my favorite things in life is being in the sun. I know I’m getting wrinkly from it, but growing up in a resort area of Minnesota leads to an addiction to all things lake. My friends and I spent hours and hours on the lake each summer, mostly on “floaties,” since we weren’t old enough to drive boats. Then when we were old enough, we spent hours and hours on pontoons and boats, wasting away the day, baking in the sun, and just simply hanging out. Ah, I dream of that now.I would love a day on the lake. I can feel the breeze and the spray of water. […]
I need to make an addendum to my last post. I was thinking that I was a bit harsh-sounding about the non-thinkers. I was sort of rambling (shocking) and not articulating what I really meant about non-thinkers. So now I’m over-thinking what I thought about the non-thinkers! Just know that if you’re a non-thinker, I realize that sometimes it’s simply a blessing to NOT be so reflective and ridiculously contemplative. To just roll with life. I admire it.Also, right after I wrote the last post, I got a call from Lana, saying she was about to drop by. I had spoken with her earlier in the day when I was uncontrollably laughing over how tired I was and how I had been answering the millionth “why” of the day. She can relate, and she said something about how she has a hard time if her husband is gone for a night, let alone […]
Warning: This is one of my “serious” posts. Don’t read it if you’re not in the mood.I talk a good line. I keep writing posts about staying positive. Sometimes I feel like a huge hypocrite. Sometimes I really want to be a non-thinker. I want to simply live and breathe, hang out and think about a lot of unimportant things. I’m just not made that way. I think so hard about things and I really can’t help it. I’m pretty jealous of people who just don’t think. That’s sounds a bit nutty, but I am. Nutty and jealous.There are people who honestly don’t give much thought to how well they’re doing at things, or what they want for their lives. They just live. Maybe they miss out on things, or maybe they fall into good things despite never having thought about it. I know both kinds of people – those that think too […]
