Dear Faithful Readers,Sometimes I’ve been known to get on a soap box, high and mighty, waxing poetic about the negative effects of commercialism in our society. Sometimes I go on and on about my children hardly ever seeing commercials because I panic and turn the channel. I say things like “PBS only-no commercials!” And then sometimes I just become an advertiser, the epitome of evil itself. I am hypocrisy personified, what can I say? My children will not be looking at the ads on my blog. And I’m totally doing this for their own good anyway, what with the rising price of college. I figure I wouldn’t be at home to make sure no one turns the tv on if I had a job. So I plan to simply get rich quick with blogher ads and continue my current duties at home, including commercial policing. The getting rich part, it’s totally going to […]
The reason I feel like I never get a real break from my job is my fault. I put a lot of pressure and importance on myself. I have this idea that that my little corner of the world will stop spinning if I go. Or at the very least someone won’t get fed or won’t go to bed on time. The horror.Irrational, I know. And I’m grown-up enough (barely) to admit it. It’s a frequent conversation with Ryan and I, this need for a “real break.” H– “I am so tired. I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired before. I just feel like I never get a break. I mean a real break, where it’s long enough and truly refreshing. I mean, when I go out with a friend it’s practically after the kids are in bed anyway and then I feel like I should hurry because I want to make […]
Miles often says, “tell me about that venture,” which is a way of saying, “tell me a story about an adventure.” Lately we tell him the story of the day he was born. At his current age, (three today!) he thinks it’s a pretty boring tale. He often adds a dinosaur or a giant to mix it up a bit. I on the other hand am thrilled there were actually no dinosaurs or giants, because I was already terrified enough as it was. Scared of labor, scared of the pain, scared of the unknown, scared to bring a life into this crazy world… I can’t believe we are three years removed from that day. I made a dvd of photos from the last few years, set to music for Miles’ birthday. I could sit and watch it all night. I let it run during his party today. Every once and awhile I could […]
I should really carry a camera with me all the time. I would, but it’s kinda big and I already have to carry people and other things. But there are so many times when I can be heard saying, “why didn’t I bring my camera?!” The wee ones do some pretty funny stuff. All of that randomness to say that I really wish I had my camera with a few days ago. We were visiting our friends Mackenzie, Olivia and Ellorie. On this particular visit, Mackenzie and I were patting ourselves on the back for our efficiency and multi-tasking skills. We were pretty much tooting our own horns, saying how well we juggled the kids, pool time, and dinner time. Like real champs, without even being crabby. Then God laughed at us. I think. I can’t be sure. But I’m of the opinion that we humans are quite a hoot in God’s eyes, […]
I was reading this post this morning by one of my favorite bloggers. It appears she and I have something in common – losing things. When she talked about putting things in a special place to be sure you’ll know where they are and then forgetting, I totally related. Remember my ring? After I finished reading her post about losing things, I went on with the day, putting things away. I opened the cupboard above the computer and I did not find “Oreos from heaven.” But I did find my ring!!! Sitting right there in plain sight. I’ve opened that door many times in the weeks since I “lost” my ring. Never noticed it staring me in the face. Wow. Geez. What a relief! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Like clock-work, each and every morning, my Asher alarm wakes me at 5:07a.m. Sometimes it’s 5:03, but generally, it’s 5:07. He’s quite serious about when things get done. At 5:07, he fully expects to be refreshed with a small bottle. I try to remember to prepare this little dose of libation the night before so when I stumble into the kitchen at 5:08a.m., I don’t have to do any more work than is absolutely necessary. I get Asher, change his soggy pants, feed him the bottle and put him back in his crib. Most times he’s cool with that routine, drifting back to sleep for an hour or two more. Most of the time I try really hard to drift back to sleep for an hour or two more, but for me there’s too much anticipation. Because the next waking is so unpredictable. I try to believe that I’m going to feel rested […]
“When you like a friend you share chocolate with them.” – Miles*this would be way less cute if we were sitting and sharing chocolate with friends, but it came out of the blue, on his way to the bookshelf for a book. Just a little unprompted gem of wisdom from the boy who’s as sweet as chocolate itself. “Hey, mommy! LOOK!!! There’s some boobers, just like yours!” – Miles*We were walking through a store, passing the bra section. He was pointing at bras (of a variety I would never wear, mind you), and this statement was made quite loudly. I’ve never called a bra a “boober,” but I guess I will now… I’m so scared of what he’s going to say about a person while they’re in ear-shot. Our sweet niece once totally humiliated her mom while in line at a store. There was a little person standing nearby and our niece started […]
Life is funny. On Saturday I went to a garage sale and saw a cute little boy that I recognized, but couldn’t think of how I might know him. I didn’t recognize his mom or the other older couple that appeared to be his grandparents. Then they asked where I live and when I told them, the couple said the mom and her son live here too. So I realized I must know them from the park near our house. Yup. That was that, not all that exciting. Just a cute kid that I remember stood out to me one day at the park because of said cuteness and his obsession with getting tiny rocks out of his crocs. Now fast forward to this morning when the boys and I are at the park. Oh, look. There’s that cute little kid from the garage sale and…well, I guess that must be his daddy […]
Sometimes people visit this blog accidentally. I know this because I have one of those site meters and it will say where visitors to this site are from and how they got here. The most random, mis-directed folks come from google search…and their search words are also included on site meter. I am so glad. What a kick! One had searched google for information on ‘squishy muscles.’ I doubt that my post about Asher being slow to crawl did them much good, but maybe? Another web researcher was looking for more information on ‘communal nuts,’ and was led to my post about how I’d love to live in a commune even if that’s nuts… Okay, one more. This is fun. Search words: photographing squishy muscles. What? That poor person was forced to read more about a baby that doesn’t crawl… I guess I should be more careful about using quotes, but I am […]
Miles is only happy when he’s outside. No exaggeration in the least. ONLY happy outside. Inside? Well, people walking by probably think I’m doing some pretty horrible things to my child. There’s a lot of “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” flying through the air. And a lot of “STOP doing dat MOMMYYYY!!!!” There’s also a lot of “GO take a break in your room and come back when you’re ready to stop being rude…” on my end. Over and over and over and over. So we’re going to just stay outside all the time. With the water table and the bubbles and the shovels. If you call, just know that I’m outside and I forgot my cell. If you come by, look for us in the backyard. If we’re not there, we’re at the park. I will need a loan from someone for vats of sunscreen and bug spray. We won’t be in the house unless it’s […]
My dear Miles wanted “cream with that…um, that… whatayacallit?” Pineapple, honey. “Oh, yeah, pineapple, yeah, I want that with cream.” Um, what the heck… Coming in to my room, as I’m dressing he says, “where are you going?” And I explain that I’m simply getting dressed for the day. “But why?” So I explain that I’m simply getting dressed for the day. “Are you going to a party?” No, I’m simply getting dressed for the day. He gives up and walks away, confused. It dawns on me that maybe Miles can’t understand what I’m doing because I don’t generally rush to the ‘getting ready’ stage very often. You should see his face when I actually do my hair, wear make-up and dress up(which for me means pants and a nicer-ish shirt). He looks at me like his mom has been replaced by some other more put-together person and says something like, “mommy, you […]
My friend Mackenzie and I decided to take the kiddos to a cool park a couple of days ago. It’s kind of state-parkish, wide-open spaces, trails, playground, and one of those covered areas for parties and such. We picked up dinner and sat down on a blanket next to the play area so Miles and Olivia could play while the babies “chilled” with us. There was a wood tick. And diarrhea. But I won’t get into that. There was some kind of gathering of important looking people in the shelter nearby. Three of the business men from the party (dressed in casual, but still very obviously VIP), came over and stood right next to the blanket to discuss co-workers, talk on their phones, and refer to “cases.” It was all very serious. Every once and awhile Mackenzie and I would look at each other and give a knowing stare, like “why in the […]
So I was wondering if the ten of you who read this blog could act like it’s the coolest thing you’ve ever read and have ten of your friends start reading it? Maybe if you make it sound all awesome and totally addicting, they’ll fall for it and become brainwashed enough to believe they can’t go a day without reading it? Just an idea. Because then I wouldn’t have to look for a job. I could be like the other bloggers I read and have ads on my site. So many people would visit that I would get paid mucho dinero. Because I’d really rather not get a job. I like being home with the two most splendid little boys ever. I like not having to punch a clock, even if it means I work WAY too many hours. I like to watch Miles make up dances like “catch the spider,” where he […]
We hit the jackpot at the library yesterday. Here are some great picture books for you moms of extra-young ones…. Or for anyone who wants a great gift idea: Silly Sally by Audrey Wood: A Bear and His Boy by Sean Bryan:Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney: Such a random thing to share, but I’m random. What can I say? Miles and I read these before bed and neither of us could stop the giggles. Good reads, good reads. I love rhyming. *UPDATE* My dear, loving husband was confused by this statement. To clarify, yes it is a random statement having to do with books that rhyme. It did not mean I was trying to rhyme while typing this post. Just so you know. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
It seems every blog author I’ve read in the past few days has lost something. Literally. One lost her dog. Another her cat. Another lost a little faith in her readers. There must be some kind of “virus” going around because I’ve lost my share of things in the last few days too. These are things I should not lose and so I feel a bit sheepish about admitting I’m this disorganized. But I must be disorganized, because as of this morning I still was unable to locate my cell phone, my glasses, and my wedding ring. I am happy to say that two of the three have been found. I have yet to find my ring. I’m slowly starting to feel a bit of a panic coming on, but I’m trying to believe it may still show up. After all, this has happened before. I usually find it within a few days. […]
Whenever I hear John Mayer sing, “fathers be good to your daughters, daughters will love like you do…,” my heart smiles a little. I have a father that is really good at loving. His love is quiet and at times reserved, but mostly it’s unconditional and strong enough to be felt like the force of a hurricane’s wind. I give much of the credit for my ability to love to my father. He is interested, available, thoughtful, refraining from giving too much input. I know he understands and respects me by the way he takes seriously what I’m saying. Even when I get a little crazy and overly reflective, he has patience enough to quietly consider what I’m saying like it’s actually quite important. Today I walked by a man who was wearing a t-shirt that said, “you can’t scare me, I have daughters.” One of the little girls walking with him had […]
When I post something all crabby like yesterday I always end up feeling silly. Since a new day never fails to start and shed new light on the ridiculous attitude I had. Most of yesterday’s post was me making light of the situation, but to be honest I wasn’t really in a good place. And that’s okay, it happens to all of us. It does help me to make some jokes about it on the blog and then move on. I love that. Every person needs to say they hate dishes every once and awhile, but I sure can rant. Geez. Everywhere I’ve turned since posting that silliness, I’ve been reminded that I am NOT suffering. Don’t worry I’m not going to go get all hard on myself now. I just sometimes have to shake my head at how focused I can get on myself. And how focused I can get on things […]
Remember how I said the daily chores of life really get the best of me sometimes? And I was all, “I’m going to focus on playing with the boys and ‘let go’ of the to-do list, blah blah blah…” Yeah, that. Oh, yeah. That. I guess I can’t totally ignore things that need to get done though, because that’s just gross. You should see my house right now. But I really, really want to ignore it all. During the weeks that Ryan is gone especially (which lately feels like every week), I can’t muster the energy to keep up. I do to some extent, but I’m just so completely exhausted in every possible way that sometimes I just can’t put one foot in front of the other. It’s not always like this, but maybe it’s all the rain. I don’t know. I’ve said this a hundred times, but I’ll say it forever. Single […]
And here is Asher, struttin’ his stuff: I’m beginning to truly understand how hard it is for this poor boy to crawl. That head!! It is SO heavy… He crawls about five feet and then rests it on the ground. No lie. But he’s pretty proud of himself anyway. I would be too, if I had to strain my neck and back that much, just to get around! So he looks up frequently like, “I DID IT!!!” Oh, the ninety-ninth percentile. It’s a heavy load to bear. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
The kids and I had to get out of the house today. I made the mistake of asking Miles where he would like to go. He said the play place at the mall. I said something like, “really?” He was sure. Anyway, we ran other errands and I started to truly dread the mall, the double stroller, the chaos… We came up to a light and I couldn’t help but notice the golden arches to my right. Hmmmm. Mistake #2 of the day was asking if the play place at MickeyD’s would suffice… ugh. Miles has been to the play place one other time in his life. Luckily we were with friends that day. I was pregnant with a (very) large Asher, and Miles couldn’t find his way out of the “tunnels” in the play place. My friend climbed her way through and saved his life. That was a long time ago, so […]
Why would companies that make bibs bring Velcro into my laundry? Did they sit around and say things like, “what mommy doesn’t want a bib Velcroed to her favorite sweater?” Why is the little scoopy thing in the formula (I know, formula=bad) but anyway, why is the scoopy thing all buried in the white powder when you first open it. Gone. At the bottom. Hiding… It’s almost as maddening as opening a new can of coffee and having to dig your way to the caffeine. Can’t they make the wipes so that when you pull one out, you don’t get four? Why are any baby/children clothes made in white? Why is it that all sippies claim they don’t leak, but when you find one upside down in your two-year-old’s bed, there’s always a puddle under it? Why doesn’t playing on the floor with Lego’s or trucks burn more calories? Why don’t they make […]
This is what I just overheard while Ryan was trying to work on getting Miles to bed:Ryan said something encouraging about brushing teeth while handing Miles his toothbrush. Then he obviously smelled an odor that wasn’t pleasant, so he said, “I detect poops.” Miles did not respond. He asked him if he was, in fact “poopy.” Miles still didn’t respond.Then my lovely, quirky husband said, “You know you can tell mommy and daddy if you have poops. Or if you think you might be about to have poops. Or if you just happen to be thinking about poops.”Miles responded by brushing his daddy’s face instead of his own teeth. We’re totally making progress on the potty training thing… Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
One of the things about being a stay-at-home mom that I have yet to figure out is prioritizing. I have (almost) completely lost my really quite impressive ability to organize and multi-task. As with many other things, I have kissed them goodbye, reluctantly. But I have to admit it’s painful. Especially if I compare myself to “those” moms, the ones who seem to have it all together. I really do know a few. Real life Martha Stewarts. The ones with clean houses and clean laundry, no piles of paper everywhere, and fresh vegetables from the garden. I think it would be pretty freeing for me to just accept that I am not one of those moms, no matter how much energy I waste trying to be her. For me it’s like trying to be a mathematician, it just isn’t going to happen. I do not possess any gifts remotely close to anything to […]
I got an incredibly generous gift for my birthday from my brother-in-law. A gift card to Barnes and Noble of a sizable amount. Okay, I’ll just say it was over 99 dollars. How nice huh? I got to go to one of my favorite places on the planet and act rich. It was truly a heavenly afternoon for me. Just for kicks, I’ll share what I got! -Patty Jane’s House of Curl by Minnesota author, Lorna Landvik(love her)-Harvesting the Heart, by Jodi Picoult (we’re friends too)-Walking With God, by John Eldredge (one of my favorite guys)-The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant (finally own this book!)-Grace, Eventually by Anne Lamott (she’s like a sister) Okay so that’s a lot of new books, especially considering I have about five that were already impatiently waiting to be read next to my bed. I told Ryan last night that I’m turning into my mom, piles of books […]
Today we had tacos. Being the incredibly good mother that I am, I pulled Asher’s into bite size pieces. Then he cried and stared at me and banged his hands on his high chair while I tried to enjoy my regular-sized taco. He hates it when someone is eating something bigger than he is. Finally I handed him a full-sized taco, being the wonderful mother that I am. Just to see what would happen. And to stop the screaming. And whatayaknow, he just chomped away, taking bites while giggling and smiling. He didn’t even come close to choking. He knew what the heck he was doing. “Hmmm,” I thought. “Sometimes my boys know better than I do what they might be ready for. “ (No worries, I’m not going to hand him a whole hot dog or an apple straight off the tree, no worries…)Oh! And by the way Asher is currently beginning […]
