I’ve bumped into a few blog posts today (pun intended) about tripping, falling off of things, basically making a fool of yourself in one way or another. That sort of thing. I LOVE these posts. I love to imagine the antics of another human being, flailing around and making a fool of themselves. Maybe that’s a bit mean. But I can’t help it. There is no better way to make me giggle until I can’t stop than to walk next to me, catch your toe on a tiny bump on the ground and do one of those sudden attempts to prevent hitting your face on the pavement. Oh, I’m laughing right now just thinking of it. I can’t stop. I’m picturing you tripping and it’s super funny. Hold on a second…. Thanks. Sorry. Oh wait, just another second (imagine me here with finger held up, my hand covering my mouth to prevent you […]
This morning after I put Asher down for a nap, I started to clean up the house. I put the dishes in the dishwasher and started a load of laundry. I picked up some handfuls of miscellaneous junk and put it away. I was walking back from putting some things away in my room and looked up to see Miles coming toward me with a curious little expression on his face. He said, “Mommy, who’s coming over?” I answered that I didn’t know if anyone was coming over today. He said, “Yes. Someone must be coming over.” My parents came over on Sunday. Not long after my dad sat down at the table, Miles stood in front of him, staring up with those big eyes. (Please note that I was standing in the same room and so was Ryan.) He said, pretty much out of the blue, “Um, Spongebob…um.. Yeah, Spongebob, I watched […]
Me- “What do you think I should do as a mommy? Is there something you’d like me to be doing?” Miles- “You should be a daddy.” Me- “Well, I can’t really be a daddy cause I’m a lady, so I guess I need to stay being a mommy.” Miles- “You should decide which mommy to be then.” I’ve mentioned before that I love the site Mama Manifesto. I love to read and get ideas, share myself and feel encouraged there. A recent post really challenged me and reminded me that I need to try to stay focused on “which mommy I want to be…” My “Mama Manifesto,” (in short, basically goals I have as a mother) is quite long and involved, making me feel a bit overwhelmed. (Much of it can be found in my post from many moons ago, Ambition.) I have this picture in my mind of the mom I want […]
Last night was our annual block party for National Night Out. As you can see, things didn’t turn out so great for Uncle Kevin: And then there was Miles. He got all hopped up on ice cream and had one too many tantrums. The po po hauled him off to sugar de–tox. He’s back today and we’re happy to report that he seems to have learned his lesson: Isn’t that a terrifying photo? For a mom? C’mon!Miles actually did LOVE the police car, despite the fear in his eyes. (Every year the police/firemen stop by the block party and wow the kids with their vehicles.) Asher and Miles thought they were in heaven. No tantrums actually occurred, but there was a sugar high that lasted past 10pm. Today has been a day of recuperating for the over-tired grumps. But it was worth it: Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your […]
Yesterday the boys and I were on a “venture,” as Miles likes to call a walk in the double stroller. He takes these adventures very seriously and his imagination is always running wild with ideas of what kind of hunt or rescue we’re on. I chug along pushing 50 pounds of children and about 40 pounds of stroller. Sometimes I can’t breathe, especially while headed uphill. So Miles gets frustrated and says things like, “talk to me, Mommy! Why aren’t you talking?!” And I pant out, “I…can’t…” I’m in great shape. Anyway, yesterday I noticed that we were about to come up to a very dead squirrel, one who must have met his fate below a tire. Now most mothers would veer away a bit, attempting to shield their children from such an awful sight. But those are most likely the normal people. I, on the other hand, decided this was an excellent […]
At 9:52am today I was talking to my dad on the phone, rambling on about who knows what, when I look up at the calendar and say, “OH! Asher has a 10:00am lab appointment, gotta go!” CLICK. (sorry Dad!) I frantically call the best neighbors in the whole entire universe (I say “universe” in case there are aliens, because my neighbors are even better than ET). And the Best Neighbor in the Universe comes right over to watch Miles while I half change Asher’s pj’s and run out the door yelling, “THANKS, be right back!” We get to the clinic and rush up the stairs only to find out they are WAY behind. So we wait. I feed Asher random (old) snacks from the diaper bag, and try to keep him from wanting to crawl all over the lab waiting room floor. I’ve woken him up from his morning nap, but he doesn’t […]
I had my fifteen year high school reunion last night. I woke up this morning and I thought, “fifteen. fifteen. one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen…”How did that happen? Sometimes I feel like it can’t be possible. Other times I feel like it’s been even longer. Mostly I just don’t feel my age. Ever. But that’s not the point. And neither is this, but just for the record I don’t think there needs to be a fifteen year reunion. Most schools do reunions only every ten years. Much more suspense and time to lose weight between reunions. But I digress. Again. I did have a good time last night despite my being against the fifteen year thing. I saw people I hadn’t seen at the ten year reunion, and many I hadn’t seen since. It was good. Over the years, I’ve learned that we […]
Do you have that piece of paper handy? The one with the long list of things that, according to the doctor, might be wrong with Asher? I mean, it’s been quite a year. There was concern that he was missing part of his digestive system (xrays at Children’s=no abnormalities). There was concern that he had the worst case of reflux ever to hit a baby (he drinks barium at 2 months, at Children’s, has another xray=we find out he indeed has reflux, but just the usual variety). And then there was the concern that there was a hole in the digestive system (more xrays). And then we saw a GI specialist, etc…. Oh! And don’t forget all that went wrong with the circumsicion and the the urology appointments. Don’t forget that, that’s fun too… Asher is strapped in to some sort of hold-the-baby-upright-device with his arms over his head for these xrays. He […]
I’m sitting in a motor home backstage at Sonshine Music Festival. I am dog tired. I made more turkey and vegetable wraps for the artists today than I could count. Yesterday I cut up about a zillion apples. For the artists. For a fruit salad. Then I was a part of a human assembly line, passing boxes from one refrigerator truck to another because the first truck broke down and quit it’s tiring, “keep the food cool” job. It was a random and beautiful moment, as simple as it was. All of the team working together, laughing and talking while hoisting boxes of food in our attempt to save the day. All the while there’s the thump thump thump of the bass coming from main stage, and the roaring of the crowd, anxiously shouting for their favorite band to come on and rock the party. (If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, this […]
Miles was grabbing my boobs tonight at bedtime. He was saying, “let me hug these guys,” while reaching out with a tiny hand. (squeeze squeeze) “yeah, these guys.” (squeeze squeeze) “This one.” (squeeze) “And this one.” (squeeze) (This all happened really fast so please stop having visions of me just standing there, allowing my child to fondle me.) I just was kind of shocked, so I didn’t move too quickly. Lately, Milesy’s big stalling-at-bed-time technique is to hug my back, then my head, then my face, then my foot, then my “udder foot.” And on it goes. Today he added the boobs. I’m not sure what I’ll do if he continues to make this particular request as he goes through his list of body parts to hug. “Honey, we do not hug boobers,” doesn’t seem like a good response. I don’t know. I’m too tired to decide right now. I guess I’ll just […]
One year ago today, Asher Michael entered the world. He came C-section, and the doctors placed bets immediately on how much he would weigh. They were all way off, with their 9lb, some oz. guesses. They aimed too low. Ryan came back from the weighing and measuring, laughing and saying, “you aren’t going to believe this.” Then he proudly announced, “10, 10!” I said, “What do you mean? Ten what?” I was convinced he was joking, or talking about some sort of other measurements I’ve never heard of. I was delirious, woozy, cold and anxious to meet Asher. He repeated the numbers, explaining that our baby weighed nearly 11 lbs. I was silenced. (That doesn’t happen much.) Then we laughed. And laughed. NO WAY! How did he fit in there? NO WONDER my back hurt so badly this pregnancy! When we were introduced, I couldn’t believe his size and couldn’t stop kissing his […]
It has been many years since I found “amusement” parks amusing. Call me a park-party-pooper. Hot. Crowds. Sticky stuff on the ground to hop around. Reminds me of the state fair, which most people love, but not so much me. Lines. Sweat. Squinting… Sometimes I would still go, even before I had kids, to humor my friends or family. While trudging along, I would look around at the families with small children and wonder why there were so many. I would wonder how it could be fun at all to chase toddlers through the crowds, change diapers in strange and dirty places, and stand in long lines with impatient wigglers. Sticky. Germs. Five dollars for thirty seconds on the merry-go-round. Ugh… I would watch the little tots on the miniature cars, trains, and boats, waving as they went round and round in small circles. Cameras would be flashing, parents calling out their child’s […]
In my defense, when I came upon the scene, I did not scream. Even if we used to have a little grass under that mud. The clean-up process (HOW?) did immediately enter my mind. Yet I did not scream. I had visions of Asher eating worm poop. I did not scream. Remember how I swung my arms at my sides and used my, “I’m really trying to be cool about this” voice? Aren’t I grown up? (replay of my thought process):“Boys like mud,” I said to myself. “They’re having fun. Go nuts. I will try not to be my usual neurotic self about this and go get the camera. That is what I will do. I will be fun mom.” I did not think, “what was he THINKING?!?” I stopped my brain from doing that. I’m making progress. I must really love you.Always,Heather Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your […]
Ryan called on his way back from a work trip yesterday. He was gone Monday through Thursday. He often has to put on a lot of road miles, driving hours and hours to get to sites. In typical Ryan fashion, he began the conversation with a joke,“I’m calling from my life as an over-the-road trucker.” To which I responded, in my typical fashion (bratty),“I hate to break it to you, but your job is not that glamorous.” Well, it really isn’t. He measures buildings and counts their contents (i.e. when appraising a school, he counts a lot of computers. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…. it makes him feel quite brilliant.) He doesn’t necessarily love his job, I’ll keep it at that. And since I’m so loving and supportive 100% of the time, I did some job searching for him today. It was so selfless of me. It had absolutely nothing to do with […]
I love my life… HEY!!! Who’s doing that?!? “Help me, pick me up, help me,someone sprayed me!!!” (all credit to Sabrina for the picture story idea. Sabrina, stop camping and come home, all of us are hurting over the lack of comments!) Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
“Daddy, look at that spider. Do you like that spider? (Daddy says no.)Why, Daddy? Does it bite?” (Daddy says he doesn’t know.)Daddy, is it a biteyish spider?” Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Look! The Ash Man pulled himself upand stood!New trick! New trick! These are my kids. They are exhaustedafter much fun and play this 4th of Julyat Nanny and Bapa’s.This is what they do whenthey lose their minds… And this is what Ryan does when he loses his mind.He plays in a kiddie pool by himselfwhile his son opens birthday presents. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
“Mommy why don’t you like all bugs why do some of them scare you why don’t you like all bugs mommy? Some aren’t stingyish.” Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
I have been away from the computer for two days. I thought that I would take a break to gauge how addicted I am. Turns out I’m not that addicted, barely gave it a thought. Then again, I was busy. Maybe if I was stranded somewhere with no hope of an internet connection and not much to do, I’d lose my mind. I’ll have to try that sometime. (But I don’t really need to, since I’m totally not addicted.) Over the last few days, hanging with the family, we’ve played a few rounds of the game Loaded Questions. What a hoot. It’s a very simple game with lots of funny personal questions. You just have to guess who answered what. And laugh. That’s all you have to do. Great game. When the question, “If you had to dispose of a dead body, how would you do it” was asked, there was nothing but […]
Many, many, many years ago I was the coolest babysitter ever to rock the neighborhood. I did everything, as if I lived in the house of the families I sat for, but not in a creepy way. I loved the kids. I loved my “job.” I washed, dried, folded and put away all the laundry. I did all the dishes. I dusted and vacuumed, organized the toys, and watered the plants. We never had the TV on, we were too busy playing outside or making up cool new games. I had so much energy and there was nothing left undone. I could never sit still. If something needed to be done, I simply could not ignore it.And I didn’t even ignore the kids! I sure was young and lively. Or ADHD. Or Both. (side story: one time after babysitting really late – now I know the parent’s were partying, but then I thought […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
