I woke up thinking about Asher this morning. Lately I’ve hardly even had time for that which makes me feel guilty, of course. It’s funny how being a mom can make you feel bad for not being able to think about every part of every child’s life constantly. As if that were possible. Anyway, I woke up thinking about Asher and all the ways he is joy embodied. And I was grateful that he’s such a trooper because of how we’re so busy with his sister right now and it’s just hard if you look at it that way. He’s just four and sometimes he lets us know he’s sick of us always tending to a baby, but for the most part, he is simply full of humor and grace no matter what. He’s inspiring. After I thought about that, I thought about how he would be if he had a […]
It wasn’t easy having a baby at BlogHer. It was worth it, but it wasn’t easy. My head was split in half, covering her needs and trying to stay focused on all that needed to be done for the Serenity Suite. {This is where I say the hugest thank you EVER to Ellie, for her support and hard work the entire three days. This woman embodies what friendship really means. Truly.} One morning, after Ellie went out to grab coffee for both of us, I ordered room service and then promptly forgot that I ordered room service. Then I put Elsie in her car seat, set her on the bathroom floor and got in the shower. Then, when I heard a loud knock on the door, I WONDERED WHY. Until this thought passed through my cluttered synapses… OH YEAH. OATMEAL. So I hopped out of the shower, threw a towel around my drippy […]
wicker bending to hold intertwined and tight with empty oval spaces for hands grasping and lifting I’m a wicker basket, I said to myself. I was sitting on the bed, staring down at a storage chest made from wicker. I doubt I can remember the analogy all that well right now, but I’m going to try. It’s 5:30 in the morning in San Diego. Elsie is sleeping soundly for the first time all night…or morning. My lovely friend, co-host to the Serenity Suite and constant helper with all things baby, Ellie, is up with me. We laughed at ourselves because this sweet baby is finally at rest and now we cannot. Our time zones betray us. This trip and conference and hosting of the suite is all so much. It is so much good while it is so exhausting, especially while my head is buzzing with a high-speed need to think only of Elsie while I […]
Hello everyone – this is Ellie from One Crafty Mother here. I’m a friend of Heather’s and a grateful co-host of the Serenity Suite at BlogHer11. Heather has given me the reins to her blog to announce the wonderful people who have volunteered to host times at the Serenity Suite this year. Heather would post this herself, but as you know she has her arms full of adorable baby. The Serenity Suite is a place to get away from the mayhem, recharge your spirit, make new friends and re-connect with old ones! Stop by for a cup of coffee or a snack, put your feet up and RELAX. The Suite will be open on Thursday from 7-pm – 10pm and on Friday and Saturday from 10am – 10pm (closing only for the opening and closing community keynotes). For more information about the Serenity Suite, be sure to check out Heather’s post about it here. We would […]
I am the kind of girl who buys a ginormous five dollar mirror at a thrift store because there must be a good place for it but I don’t know where. I am the kind of girl that has the ginormous mirror in the basement for over a year. I am the kind of girl who walks by said ginormous mirror every day on the way to the laundry and feels sort of guilty. I am the kind of girl who decides very randomly on a nothing-else-going-on kind of day that the mirror must go on the wall right over there right this very minute, after all this time. (Thank you Ryan and Dad.) I am the kind of girl who notices that the orange curtains can be seen at the same time as the orange pillows now because of the mirror. I am the kind of girl who has to […]
he won’t be the bad guy. Miles asks, can you be at least half bad and he says emphatically NO. I’m good. he is. he is so good. he wants his sister close and he takes each of her knuckles one by one those teeny tiny knuckles between his fingers and he presses softly smiling his cousin gets hurt and he brings it up all day wasn’t that sad when that happened, mama? yes it was, sweetie that’s him. he is sweetness. He is four. We got to keep him, despite every fear and he is so much more than the boy who had brain surgery when he was one and the boy who has a shunt and tubing through his body and the boy with the adorable glasses. He is The Noggin but of course he is Asher. Everything about him is simply who he is, just parts making up the most […]
Now my hands have found a small back to land on and one of them is always working hard on air bubbles, like morse code; tap-tap-tap, I tell that air up and out, you don’t belong. Now my hands are gently rubbing up and down a tiny spine, wondering how the terrain can be so small for now. I smell her head (of course) and I reach to move my hair in case it might be in her eyes or nose or mouth. She is up on my shoulder and moving my hair reminds me that I haven’t lately or slowly moved my hand around her small head, brushing soft little wisps of her hair into lines. So I do. I move my hand around and around this soft and tiny noggin and I breathe her in. I want to write pure and profound words about her existence and I want everyone in the world to read […]
1. There are things about each of my children that mirror who I am. Some of these parts are appealing, I suppose. Others…notsomuch. One thing that Miles carries of mine is neither good nor bad. Or, maybe, it’s both good and bad. Memory. Fierce memory. Just today he said, Remember that one time when I was three and that fly landed on my hand and I stood very still and it stayed there a long time. I do remember, mostly. I know he remembers entirely. That boy seemed to enter the world intent on memorizing every moment and everything. He hardly ever cried as a baby, so unlike his brother and sister, and looking at him you would have seen a furrowed and concentrated expression. It’s as if he arrived here knowing everything that was going to happen, an old soul, if you will. And it seems if that’s the case, he just […]
It’s funny how I remembered but I didn’t really remember… this stage. But then again I guess it’s not that funny. Funny as in weird. I mean, I remember college, but I don’t really remember. I’m listening to music from college and it brings back some of it and all the while Elsie sleeps next to me so far from college and I wish I would be able to remember all of this one day. this day-is-night-and-night-is-day and hard and soft and beautifully difficult stage. we’re both finding our way and we’re doing it together. she will grow more and lose her wrinkles while I grow more and keep mine. The ones that weren’t there in college with these songs but are here now, telling their stories with new songs. and one day I’ll forget, so I lay wide open my heart and leave pieces of it here to look back […]
I want to tell you so many things. It has been a scary and exciting and lovely couple of days. I’m too tired to type out all the details, so for now, let’s just welcome… *really fast and suspenseful drumroll please* Elsie Jane!!! (That’s EJ of the EO, I just realized…ha.) Yes. Elsie Jane is here and she’s just…pure…goodness. But… does she look a little suspicious to you? That’s because she’s had a rough night and day, trying to figure out how to breathe. She’s doing so much better now though–breathing more peacefully on her own and slowly getting well enough to leave the special care nursery so we can be together all the time. I can’t wait. She may even be able to come to stay in my room with me tonight or tomorrow morning! Elsie also got to meet her brothers today. They touched her fingers and toes and […]
I’m in that stage of pregnancy that serves as a training period for what’s to come–night after night of working out my sleep-deprivation muscles, readying for the marathon of newborn nights. They will start (oh so) soon and be followed by groggy and irritable days. The kind where I will fight off impatience and dig more deeply for the energy to say “yes, I will.” And I’ll even do a pretty good job of it. Sometimes. I need the Jillian Michaels of the postpartum period to prepare me with lots of shouting because I’m pretty sure I’ve forgotten how seriously hard it is to sleep so little. But I guess there’s no way to be totally ready for such things. I’m just grateful for the sort of perspective I have through my foggy memory, the lessons learned through two other children–it really will pass and it really is beautifully hard. ::: These nights, […]
Pictures can’t really do the torpedo belly justice. It’s just so much pointy-er in real life. But you get the idea. I’m tired, friends. I hit a wall this week. An end of pregnancy wall I had forgotten was coming. (It blows my mind how we can forget exactly what this feels like.) (I suppose we have to or we may be less likely to do it more than once, huh?) My belly has droooped waaaay down and I have this sense of urgency, to get things done, all the nesting things. But my energy level is completely not allowing the nesting things to be done and Ryan is out of town for work and I’m tired. Just call me whine-y whinerton. My family and friends are convinced I’m going early this time. I don’t know. We can’t know these things. I know I look different, but I attribute that to my stretched […]
The thing about me is that I can be very very ambivalent. “am·biv·a·lent adjective /amˈbivələnt/ Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.” Lately I think this is The Thing about me. I want to write but I don’t want to write. I want to have this baby but I’m scared to have this baby. I want to keep us busy and productive but I want to do nothing. I want to change the world but I don’t want to do anything. I want to be more patient with my boys but I don’t care. I want to be kinder to my husband but I don’t care. I want to think but I just want to stop thinking. I feel so connected and then a moment later I feel so disconnected. I am trying to write this without too much hesitation and it’s freeing but then I hate that […]
Mother’s Day gifts. We went out in the pouring rain. It’s Mother’s Day. One should not miss being brunched. My mood was trying to fit the weather, even though I was telling it to dig under, like an earthworm. It wouldn’t. Melancholy, I guess. It just happens. We passed the cemetery on the way home and there stood a man, alone in the graveyard, hands in his pockets and hood pulled up, drenched. His head was down, toward a gravestone, and his shoulders spoke of grief. My heart ached for him and my own sadness suddenly seemed much less. I wanted to pull in the narrow driveway, hug him close and then leave him to his thoughts, his feelings. But I didn’t want to scare him. I have these gifts in skin and bone and a glass-gone-vase for treasures on my counter. I am sometimes sad but always with an undercurrent of […]
Spring is so slow in coming this year, but of course it’s coming. We’ve had very few days where the temps were high enough to spend some time outside, some real time outside, but they’re coming. Those days. It makes me REALLY appreciate outside. Today is Earth Day and I love that there’s a day for that, you know? Because we take it for granted, that the trees and the hikes will be there when we’re able to use them. And what would we do without all of it? The grass and lakes and wildlife and all the growth and gardening and replenishing. These are enormous gifts to us. Let’s take care of them. Happy Earth Day, friends. P.S. We need a compost bin over here – please advise. Do you have one? Did you make your own? Did you buy one? Just checking. (Thank you!)
I took Miles to kindergarten registration a couple of days ago. I felt uneasy the whole time, like I was in a building that was far too big for my child. That’s because everything in me just wants to keep him home with me forever. Even if the daily grind of at-home momming is hard so much of the time. Even thought it is, I just really want to tuck them under my wing, secure and warm, always. Of course, it’s not always that peaceful under my wing. I have a tendency to ruffle and fuss as much as any mother, but even so, I’d like to think that my nest is the best place in the world for my babies. These boys (who aren’t actually even babies at all anymore) are always just going ahead with all of this growing and changing. Their humor grows with their vocabularies and their long legs. They are […]
Thank you, Deb. I’m so grateful you shared this on your blog, and now I can’t stop myself from sharing it on mine. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just need a reminder that we’re all the same and that beauty comes after pain and that struggle is universal and so is grace. So yeah. I’m so moved by the above performance, I’ve watched it three times in one hour. Peace, friends. deb writes at Talk at the Table. Her words are gifts. Her gifts are words. I highly recommend her to your eyes and your mind and your heart. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
For the fifth year, Neil is hosting the BEST Holiday online concert over on his blog, Citizen of the Month.So many bloggers joined in and recorded songs or shared photos or videos, and they did such an amazing job. I must give you a heads up on a couple of them so when you scroll through you make sure to stop and click PLAY:Swonderful and Kristen Howerton. I was already a big fan of both of these women, and now I’m even more…stunned by their grace and talent. (The first time I watched Kristen’s video I did not know it was HER singing. It is. She’s goooood. And the story that goes along with her voice? It’s just the best.)So. Head on over to Neil’s place. Be inspired by all of the talent and humor and light and creativity and… ::::::: Also. Random.org chose the winner of What Think Ye of Christmas, the […]
I took a trip to IKEA yesterday with some friends. We came across something I couldn’t leave there… I really don’t know why it says EO, but it’s on my office chair now. I’ll rest my back on it while I frequently visit my friend Lee’s brain child. You should too, it’s spot-on-smart and moving and funny and informative and good. I hope your Wednesday is the same. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
She calls herself French Skinny and her blog, The French Skinny Expirement is fascinating me. The tag line – “My friend, Shaboom, moved to France and lost 65 pounds without trying. I’m in Burbank, CA and I’m going to copy what she does.” Back and forth, they journal their days and watch the pounds mysteriously disappear. What Shaboom does, French Skinny does nd the weight is coming off, even after all those croissants. Maybe I should copy too…. __________ Speaking of food… I want to introduce you to Food for My Family. I just discovered that the writer, Shaina, lives only a mile or two down the road from where we lived before our big move. I wish I would have known that sooner! When Shaina won a little Twitter contest I did the other day, I spent some time on her site and I love it. I’m terribly disorganized about healthy eating […]
Before 1. Our roof is being replaced. The funky house is about to get even cooler, thanks to the help of our friend Sharon and her design skills, and my Dad and his crew. Seriously. WHY didn’t anyone else want to buy this rad place? Is it the leaky basement? The wallpaper? The bad tile in the kitchen? I say, WHO CARES! All the windows and light and open space make up for it. Especially in Vitamin D-deprived Minnesota. (After photos to come…you know, after it’s done.) Attended children. 2. I probably shouldn’t be taking the time to write this post, but it’s difficult to resist a 7 Quick Takes because you can cover so much territory. I should be returning emails. If I owe you an email, please forgive me. Like I mentioned earlier, I am currently out of the house five nights a week. This leaves me a bit…overly scattered. When […]
1. True confession: I haven’t been watching the Olympics OR American Idol and I rarely have time to read blogs and rarely comment these days. I know, what kind of American am I? (The blogging part doesn’t have anything to do with being American, I just threw that in because I’ve been wanting to explain my absence to my blog friends because that’s what bloggers do. We feel guilty if we once read and commented like mad and then don’t for a while and we have to explain it because we fear that people might start writing us off or something that’s mostly irrational.) (Ahem.) (I’m getting over it.) (Promise.) Let’s just say there’s been much going on in my life and my head and heart. (Oh look, I’m explaining.) (I can’t stop.) (It’s just that I have such faithful readers and I appreciate you all so much and I don’t like it […]
There is something that happenswhen people come togetherfor the same reason,to speak over something until they arewalking over it instead of under it. Nothing gives methat skin raising feelinglike taking back the power,together. So go with me, to Violence Unsilencedand celebrate one yearof truths toldand voicesunleashed. Of redemption and braveryand the telling and the hearing,all in one safe place.where people have taken their dayto stand over it,Unsilenced. —— Really, you aren’t going to want to miss this VU anniversary video. I mean, Maggie does the best little head-bobbing dance at the beginning. You don’t want to miss that, now do you? COMMENTS ARE CLOSED ON THIS POST. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Tuesday~January 19, 2010 We laughed until our cheeks hurt. We burned down that hill like gravity itself with our coats and mittens crackling under the cold and we just couldn’t stop laughing. We bounced and spun and grabbed tightly to each other. We even face planted once, spilling off the sled in a pile, me on top of Miles on top of Asher. Poof! and then a split second of silence, the kind that holds a mother’s breath while she waits to see if it will be the laugh or the cry. It was the laugh that came. The very best kind of uncontrollable belly laugh, from both of my beautiful boys. A laugh that said I cannot believe that just happened it was so terrifying and so great. We lay there, all three of us propped up on our elbows, laughing too hard to get up and feeling the ice cold of […]
Thursday~December 10, 2009 I promise I won’t write another post with the words swine flu or bronchitis in them after this one. It seems like all I’ve been saying in posts and on Twitter is, I have H1N1 and bronchitis, poor me! So yeah, that stuff has cleared up. Now I’m going to move on to mentioning the stomach flu because I’m very mad at it. Yeah, both of the boys got it a few days ago, and then I got it last night. Our humble abode is just one big germ fest. Please send chocolate. No wait. Don’t. Food is gross. (I’m hoping to have lost ten pounds just for saying that.) (And for spending all night and most of today on the bathroom floor.) We’re moving very soon and Christmas is coming and the sick just has to go. I’m done with sick. I just wanted to make that announcement. Sick […]
Wednesday~December 9, 2009 Welcome to Blog • Bid • Hope, an auction benefiting The Liz Logelin Foundation and Anissa Mayhew. (To learn more about these two great causes, please read my previous post on the auction.) Please scroll down to the connected posts to see the amazing items donated for your bidding pleasure right here on The Extraordinary Ordinary. (pssst…I want the monkey spoons, and the cupcake aprons. And Miles wants the car that turns into a robot, and oh how I want the bracelet and….yeah, see? You better get bidding before I keep it all!) Seven host sites are each offering a different selection of items, so be sure to visit everyone: Buried with Children, Mayhem & Moxie, Scary Mommy, 7 Clown Circus, Adventures in Babywearing, & Mama’s Losin’ It. Bidding will begin at $10 and bids will increase at $2 increments. If you see an item you’d like to bid on, […]
Buckle Toy is a soft plush pillow or turtle, featuring buckles, colors and shapes, that is proving to be a fun companion that can hold a toddler’s attention. Playing with the child-friendly buckles and zipper improves hand-eye coordination and promotes small motor skills. The toy, which is safe for young fingers, also has a variety of shapes and colors to enhance learning. It’s great for everyday use, but especially helpful for car rides and travel. The Tampa, Florida couple behind the Buckle Toy, Seth and Jill Gomez, came up with the idea after a weekend in which their 1-year-old ignored his other toys and kept playing with the buckles on his stroller. The toy is proving to be very popular. Also included in this package is this Hawaiian gift set from Cupcake Cuddles that includes a blanket and a set of burp cloths. The blanket is 36”x36” and is backed with a super-soft […]
This gorgeous Celtic Mist bracelet is a chunky stretch bracelet made up of unique green glass beads with metal spacer beads and a little touch of ribbon. Jan Mary is a blogger from North Ireland who creates beautiful jewelry that is made unique and personal piece by piece.(Follow Jan Mary on Twitter.) At Reminisce Heirlooms, Tabetha Sullens will create a one of a kind heirloom featuring your loved one, a favorite verse or memory and encase it in glass. You can design a one of a kind sentimental gift, per your specifications, to be cherished for years. The inspirations for her designs are the two greatest blessings of her life, her children. She and her daughter dabble in a medley of crafts. A Southern girl at heart, she hopes that love for family and God shows through in her designs. She has generously donated a beautiful set of elegant hair pins. Opening bid […]
This blue transforming car by Blue Hat is sure to please the boys you know. Just ask Aimee (on Twitter if you’d like) at Ain’t Yo Mama’s Blog. She knows. The Blue Hat SAVAGEª Radio Controlled Robot Car is sure to be double the fun. This wireless wonder “transforms from a menacing robot to a sleek race car right before your eyes!” Includes full-function remote control, one rechargeable Ni-Cad battery pack and plug-in charger. Opening bid: $10. Please place your bids in $2 increments Please add your email address so we can contact you if you win your item,especially if you comment anonymously! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
McKenna Layne Designs is THE place to stop and shop for customized items such as holiday cards, party invitations, party favors, thank you cards and even luggage tags. A $75.00 Gift Card to the site should allow for the makings of an amazing announcement, greeting, or invitation. Opening bid: $10. Please place your bids in $2 increments Please add your email address so we can contact you if you win your item, especially if you comment anonymously! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
