Posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 A long, long time ago in a land far away… Well o.k., maybe it was just a long time ago. It wasn’t far away since it was right here on this very computer I’m clickety clacking on as we speak/type/read. Anyway, I went on a blogcation and there were excellent guest posts while I was blog stalking without commenting taking really good care of my home. Before I took that break, I asked if anyone had any questions. Then you left the questions in the comments. Remember? NO? WHY? Was it THAT long ago? Yes, I suppose it was. Hey! I’ve answered TWO OF THEM so don’t judge. You don’t even remember what you asked and you don’t care, do you? Too bad! I’m a woman of my word! (unless I totally forget things, then it’s just an accident.) And I can’t go into the New Year […]
Posted on Tuesday, December 30th, 2008Sometimes I like being myself, and other times I don’t. That’s one of the nice things about blogging. No, I don’t mean I’ve been a big fake and my name is actually Hank, a guy with no kids. Not that kind of not being myself. What I mean is that I can at least hide myself from sight. I can sit here at my computer without you actually seeing me in a ratty old sweatshirt, greasy hair, no make-up on, and food on my cheek. So I’m still myself, but you don’t have to look at me. Or hear me. Until today, because I’m taking part in 2nd Cup of Coffee’s, “I See What You’re Saying.” So now you’re going to have to put up with seeing and hearing me in all my frumpy glory. Go check out the other videos, what fun! So yeah..um, HI! Here I […]
Posted on Monday, December 29, 2008 Miles and Asher have had a tumultuous relationship. Asher’s colic and hydrocephalus forced him to be…well…not so much fun to be around. Miles has struggled through the last year and a half, trying to be two and then trying to be three with a wailing baby soundtrack filling his every moment. He became resentful and angry, understandably. Not only did “the new baby” come in and steal the attention, he pretty much turned life upside-down. After Asher’s surgery, things have slowly started to change. I’m finding myself more rested and at ease as Asher improves, crying less and acting like a typical one and a half year old. I’m enjoying the moments more than I’ve had the energy to do so in a really long time. (That was a weird sentence but I’m not fixing it.) I’ve been holding both of my boys just a little bit […]
Posted on Saturday, December 27th, 2008 I love having kids for many reasons. One of them is that, like most people, I love to be entertained. There’s nothing more entertaining than children, no? Life is full of surprises with these little crazies in my life. With them, Christmas travels and festivities never ever have a dull moment. (Even if I would really really like a dull moment every now and again.) For instance, right before we were leaving for Christmas at my parent’s house, bags packed and boys in the car, I was running around looking for pacifiers. I’m a wise mother, and I knew we would need at least five for the car trip. That way, when Asher threw the third one on the floor just for kicks and then cried, I’d still have two pacifying pieces of plastic up my sleeve. Or in my pocket. But I couldn’t find any, of […]
Posted December 24th, 2008 One of my favorite Christmas songs is by Dave Matthews. I cry pretty much every time I listen to it. In my humble opinion, it’s pure poetry. It tells the story of the life of Christ in a way that speaks something unique and focuses on how He lived to love. I love to imagine this unexpected fulfillment of love that first Christmas, breathing for the first time in the manger. His love filled the air like a scent, and moved through the people who came to touch Him. Love was all around. This song also poetically tells the story of Christ’s end on this earth. I had to listen a few times to grasp the reason for the words that were chosen. Not that I know exactly what Dave Matthews meant, we don’t hang out much. But my take on the repetitive nature of “spilled the blood of […]
Posted by Heather of the EO~Monday, December 22nd, 2008 Asher had his follow-up appointment last Friday. The Nurse Practitioner thought he looked great. He’s a total post-surgery rock star. He does put his head down on the floor with his butt in the air, trying to feel the pressure he used to feel, but I was informed that this is absolutely normal. I assume it confirms that he’s a genius. He doesn’t know how he feels about his new brain, so he tries to bring back the comforts of having a full head by letting the fluid rush in, like when you do a head stand (I’m pretty sure everyone does those on a daily basis). Turning himself upside-down is fine for now, but the RN did advise that if Asher continues to do this, he will need his shunt adjusted so the fluids move at a slower pace. In short, everything’s cool […]
Posted by Heather of the EO~ Friday, December 19, 2008 Miles is a true three-year-old. You know, cause he’s three and stuff. I LOVE the way his mind works. He’s got the best imagination and sense of humor. He’s also quickly learning how to manipulate conversations as an attempt to get his way or escape being caught doing something he shouldn’t.For example, he’s standing with the front door wide open, staring out at the snow while billows of foggy freezing air pour in the house and the warm air pours out, so his Dad asks him to close the door. He doesn’t. Daddy asks again with a more…serious tone, so he slams the door and quickly spouts out, “I was just checking the tempiture.” Daddy- “Oh really, what’s the ‘tempiture‘ then?” Miles- “Waaay TOO COLD!” (Amen.) ————— We’re driving to preschool and Miles has asked WHY over the same topic about thirty times […]
Posted by Heather of the EO~Thursday, December 18, 2008 If you’ve been around here long, you saw the wackypictures of me posing for my Mama Manifesto bio.So yeah, you know what I look like. Until today. I’m a brunette now. (This is not a wig) I’m still in shock. I’ve totally traumatized my kids, by the way.And my husband. Oh what fun it is to be in disguise. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Posted by Heather of the EO~Thursday, December 18, 2008 Miles, age 1-2006: Can you hear it, “Hey there, neeed a riiide?” This week I’m joining The Mom at Cheaper than Therapy with A Thousand Words Thursday. I love the idea behind this weekly sharing of photos that are worth more than a thousand words. Click the button to read more about it and join in. Happy Thursday! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Posted by Heather of the EO~Wednesday, December 17, 2008 I’m thinking of starting a new club. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Husbands. Except we won’t actually share the husbands, like the pants in that book/movie. Instead, we’ll just sit around and be tired together. We won’t have to say a word, we’ll just know. It always feels good to be truly known. Yesterday, as the snow continued to come down and I was just plain sick of it, I remembered that old “attitude is everything” saying, which made me want to drive right into a snow drift. But I didn’t. Instead, my attitude was adjusted for me, in a much more positive way than crashing my car. I pulled Asher out of his car seat at Target and hoisted him on my hip. If it were raining rather than snowing, it would have been what we call a downpour. I started to think […]
You know it’s cold when your husband goes to warm up his car and the door is so frozen, it stops working. It becomes a non-closing door. Then you have to bundle up your kiddos at nap time and drive the needs-to-fly-away-for-work-again husband to the airport. And even though it’s totally annoying, you know it’s not his fault. You graciously forgo naps so he doesn’t have to drive away in a car with an open door, freezing wind blowing across his face. This surprise trip to the airport does cause a missed nap for the youngest, so you spend the cold day indoors while he does this: And this: (He’s actually feeling much better these days, by the way. We’re all so relieved for him. He’s more content and playful. At least when he’s had his nap. So we’re pretty sure his noggin is adjusting to the shunt. (Why does that have to […]
Did you know I joined the Bloggers Annex team? Well, I did. So that means I get to read all the submitted posts and have a part in choosing those that are featured. And today my big introduction post is up over at the Annex. Check it out and leave me a comment over there. That will make me feel better about rambling on about myself and posting a picture that looks nothing like me on a daily basis. (You know, I look showered and I’m wearing make-up. Weird.) ————— In other news, the man behind the Mother Letter Project is doing another cool thing today. He rocks. He has a Mr. Linky type of thing over at the Mother Letter Project blog. Everyone is welcome to talk up one of their favorite organizations (charities) and link up over there. The organization I’m going to link to the Mother Letter Project is…(drumroll….)… You’re […]
There’s something so beautiful about a house full of women. The chatter and laughter, the smiles and questions. The give and take. The humor. The food… I hung out in a house full of women (and one man) today at one of my favorite places–the warm and inspiring home of K and/or K. Kelly hosted her second annual Santa’s Workshop. She invited the lovely ladies in her life to the Vlachster (K and/or K) home, asking us to bring our unwrapped gifts and some cookies. Then we did the cookie exchange thing, talking our heads off while getting our wrapping out of the way. Kelly even provided the wrapping paper, bows, gift bags, and tissue paper to help us accomplish this Christmas chore. (Even though some of us haven’t done our shopping yet…cough…SABRINA!) (Oh…and ME.) Anyway. Today’s Santa’s Workshop was a much needed break for me. As icing on the cake, I FINALLY […]
In recent months I might have turned into a total nut case if not for this lovely blogging community I’ve become addicted to had the honor to become a part of. I just love it. So now I’m going to jump up and down, pointing at a few of you who knocked my socks off this week (please picture that, but remember I don’t jump very high anymore, and if I have to point at the same time as I jump, it would look pretty ridiculous because I’m so not coordinated.)But I digress. We were talking about YOU: Brooke at Life in the Sagebrush allowed her children to totally take charge of decorating the Christmas tree. All by themselves, just as they wanted to do it. (I think it turned out great.) I love it when Moms set aside how they’d like to do things and allow their children to create great Christmas […]
Have you heard of The Mother Letter Project? It’s just the sweetest thing. You can click on the link to learn more. In a nutshell, a sweet man out there is collecting letters for his wife. To join in, you’re simply asked to write a letter titled, Dear Mother. And then either give advice or encouragement of some kind and email him the letter. Then this lovely husband will compile them all (A LOT) in a book for his wife for Christmas. Doesn’t THAT rock the husband party? I encourage you to go read more about what this family is doing this Christmas rather than buying material gifts, it’s inspiring. ———– Dear Mother, You’re perfect. It’s not that you don’t have faults, you do. You should know that, since you seem a bit focused on those faults. But you’re absolutely the perfect fit for your children. You have flaws of course, but they’re […]
I have this problem. One where I feel I have to talk and talk and talk and talk in order to be heard. I have to explain in the greatest of detail exactly how difficult something is until the person I’m talking to appears to have fully grasped my discomfort and validated me for at least a half an hour. Gross. I’m sick of hearing myself. Yeah, yeah…life is rough, get over it. Since this season of our lives has pretty much swallowed me up, I don’t even know what I’m feeling anymore. We found out yesterday that Asher is so uncomfortable because:a) his shunt is working TOO well, draining all the extra fluid from his brain a bit too quickly, which is painful. (if it’s not better by next week, they’ll change the setting so things slow down.) b) he is also getting eye teeth and it’s been said that those are […]
Yes, a Xanax sounds good about now. I’ve heard that stuff’ll make you feel great. It’s a good thing I wrote about my faith yesterday. Now I can read that post over and over and over to remind me that we’re taken care of, and even if life is hard and scary, I know that in the end we’ll be o.k. Maybe things won’t always work out the way I think they should, but the final result is always grounded in grace, even if it looks pretty ugly to me. If I didn’t believe that all the way down to the ends of my toes, I might explode. Asher isn’t doing so hot. (he’s super fussy and needy and agitated and impossible to comfort.)I’ve been thinking that’s probably normal. After all, a neurosurgeon put a piece of plastic and a bunch of tubing in his head and belly. That can’t be fun. But […]
FYI: This post is continued from the last post. You might be a bit confused if you haven’t read that one.I thought it would be simple to answer the question, “What do you believe?” But it’s not. And now I’ve gone and said I would answer the question, so I’ll try, even though it’s hard. I haven’t gotten into detail about my faith on the blog too much in the past, and I have my reasons for that. So this is a bit uncomfortable, or at least more uncomfortable than I thought it would be. The reason for my discomfort? Well, I ask you this: How DOES a person put into words what they believe? It would take pages and pages! Faith is so multi-layered and individual, nearly impossible to describe. And sometimes professing faith can sound so trite or cliche. So much of the language of “believers” has been repeated so many […]
People say that you shouldn’t talk about religion or politics. I’m not the best at following that unwritten rule. Well, politics…yeah, I can totally skip that. But religion? I can’t skip it. I love theological discussions. Before I went on a (short) blogcation awhile back, many of you asked some really good questions. I still haven’t answered them, but I’m finally going to start today. (I procrastinate with the best of ’em, but I usually do what I said I would do, sooner or later.) I realize I’m not that interesting and mysterious, but a lot of people have asked me one particular question, so I figure it’s time I clarified. No, it’s not “How come you’re soooo smart, Heather?” That’s not it. I don’t know why no one asks me that, but whatever. The burning question is however, “Are you Mormon?” I did sort of answer this in the comments a while […]
I’m copying welcome to my brain (excellent blog by the way) and doing a little thingy. A thingy that will make my day. My day needs to be made. This is your chance to leave a random comment that has nothing to do with anything. Such fun.————————————— Rules: *Grab the book nearest you. Right now. *Turn to page 56. * Find the fifth sentence. * Post that sentence as a comment. * Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST. Why are you still looking at this? Grab the nearest book and leave your random comment! Go! Do it! It’s funny! :) Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
There is something entirely and completely broken about me trying to post a video. So, NO NOGGIN FOR YOU! (I said I would post a video of Asher post-surgery, but no, I can’t figure out what in the world is wrong with uploading it and I’m sick of trying. So, NO SOUP…er, I mean… no NOGGIN for you!) STINK. Which means I have to share some random thoughts from my head instead. Sorry… Miles just walked over here and said, “We are using this house SOOOOO much, it’s going to get old, but we’ll still live here.” Hope so. Today Ryan (husband) said that the neurosurgeon “must have found the ‘on’ switch…” That was his nice way of saying that Asher is currently OUT OF CONTROL. He’s all over the place! (He was fussy and kind of sleepy before the surgery…now he’s fussy and kind of all over the place! Oh my. We […]
Recently I wrote about how I want to start some incredibly wonderful, exciting, appealing and memorable traditions for Christmas. I joked about how I wanted to do that so that my boys will continue to visit me on Christmas for the rest of my life. But aside from the joking (mostly), I really do want to create memories through traditions through the years, so I’ve been keeping my eyes open around the blogosphere. I also remembered to continue to give people this:Usually I forget stuff that I had good intentions of doing, but not this time. No way. Uh uh…I can’t forget my very own button. It’s really pretty impossible to forget that Moms Rock, so I didn’t forget. Now let’s get on with it and recognize some rockin’ Moms: You can imagine my excitement (grinning at computer) when I read a post that helped me with ideas for Christmas traditions from a […]
It’s good to be home! We still can’t believe that after a day like yesterday (yuck) Asher was discharged today! There really is no place like home. We haven’t really been able to get that boy to get the sleep he so very badly needs while in the hospital, so I’m so happy to say he’s snug in his very own bed as we speak (type). In yesterday’s post I said I was going to report a miracle today. So here it is: The Miracle of the Cheerio. Or Cheerios. The boy needed to EAT and he was MAD. Then he had some Cheerios and they cheered him. For at least a half an hour. Which felt like a miracle at the time. No, the story is not more interesting than that. But hey, I’ll take all the small miracles I can get. I also think it’s a miracle that I was only […]
I’ve just taken a break from Asher’s hospital room and came upon a computer. I had a moment to take a look at my friend, Midnight Cafe’s post and will hopefully read through all of your lovely comments soon. Thank you! I can’t say enough how much it means to know you’re out there thinking of us. I needed a break because my boy is currently quite agitated, over-tired, and in pain. We can’t seem to get him to calm down and rest. I hope that soon he’ll hit the wall and let himself fall asleep. For now, we’re struggling along with him as he can’t stop crying and can’t find a way to be comfortable. We’re so very thankful for the fact that the surgery went well. I don’t expect that everything will be perfect or go just as smooth as I’d like it to go, but I admit I’m struggling along […]
Hi all! This is MidnightCafe standing in for Heather of the EO today. She & I belong to the same Bible Study group, which Heather described in if life is a highway as a group of women who: …drink coffee and eat naughty things and then learn a little something from a little known lady named Beth Moore. In any case, I get to be the honorary blog poster who tells you all that… DRUMROLL PLEASE Asher is in recovery, and the surgery went great!! Heather’s sister (who sounds a lot like Heather on the phone) said that it took just a little over an hour. Now he’s waking up, drinking pedialyte, and doing fine! There’s not a whole lot else to say at this point. He will be in the hospital at least until tomorrow, and then the plan is for him to go home and be his wonderful, engaging self with […]
I’m thankful that Asher is about to get some relief. More thankful than I can say. But I’m also finally allowing myself to feel, and it’s really scary. Yesterday, the nicest lady I’ve ever talked to called and gave me careful directions so we could find our way to the right part of the hospital tomorrow. She gave me a whole lot of instructions and gently prepared me for what Asher might look like after the surgery. Then she apologized for her next question, carefully choosing her words to ask if the doctors should do all they can to save Asher should something happen to go wrong. Yes. During that call, I had the sinking feeling that hits you in the gut when you finally realize something is actually going to happen, whether it’s comfortable or not, and you don’t know if you can do it. I started to allow the anxiety to […]
As I’m struggling to get Miles to put his own pants on, I give in to help him and get him OUT THE DOOR (I love him dearly, but he’s three and a half right now.) I’m sitting on the floor and he puts his arms around my neck while whining and fussing because I’m trying to wriggle his little legs into his pants. So I try to lighten the mood, “Thank you for the hug, sweetie.” To which he responds, “I’m not hugging you, I’m just holding on to you.” Nice.———-He spills milk down his leg and commands the dog to lick it off. “TIA!! RIGHT HERE! GET THIS!!!” (over and over and over.) Ryan asks him to go get a towel and clean his leg off himself. Miles says, “But Tia has better equipment.” Ryan – “What do you mean?” Miles – “Better licking equipment.”———-Me- “I love you no matter what […]
