Meeting bloggy friends in real life is cool. And kind of strange. But not strange in a bad way. Just a surreal kind of strange. I suppose it’s the same territory as meeting up with any kind of acquaintances that you don’t know that well. At first it’s a bit surreal and then you warm up. Or I do anyway. I probably warm up too much and then ramble on and on. I know that’s shocking. That I would ramble on and on…. So yeah, what I’m saying is, I met six fantastic bloggers this morning. People who were formerly kind of distant, a figure behind lovely words on the computer screen. (Not that I didn’t realize that they would have hair and teeth and stuff. Or that I would be able to actually HEAR their voices and SEE their smiles. I knew I would, but usually when I “talk” to them, I’m […]
I’m having a good morning. I know this because I was nice to the dog. Now, if you don’t have a dog and children and a husband and a house at the same time, you may wonder why I’m not always nice to the dog. Don’t worry, I do not kick the dog. But I do completely ignore her when I’m all overwhelmed and grumpy. I feed her. And I let her out into the junkyard, or I mean backyard to do her duty. That’s nice of me. But I don’t pet her or talk to her that much anymore unless I’m having a really good day and I remember to notice her. True confession. So anyway. This morning I stood right by her (Tia) and talked to her and patted her head and scratched her behind her ears. For more than ten seconds. So I must be having a good day. My […]
*Update* Go check out Mama Manifesto today – there’s a contest, a great prize, and great ideas in the comments for books that help your kids learn valuable lessons. Yup, go check it out (but don’t forget to read about SOS below!)A post of mine is up on the Bloggers Annex today! An honor indeed. If you haven’t checked out the Annex, please do! Anyone can join and submit posts. One post is chosen and featured every day. There’s always something good to read. Thank you, AnneX! And now, SOS = Soap Opera Sunday Do you read Twas Brillig? Or is that just a silly question and now you’re saying “Of course!” Well I hope you are. I’m pretty sure Brillig has lived the fullest life of anyone her age on the planet. And when she tells her stories, your nose gets a bit glued to the screen, she’s amazing. Brillig and friend, […]
Well, the Jim Henson folks have done it again! I’m in love with this show. I want to go back in time and greet my friends at school like this every day. Or maybe not, but I’ll imagine it. Just for kicks. I think we’ve entered a Sid the Science Kid Labor Day marathon. We may need to get things done, and maybe we should be outside on this beautiful day, but we can’t stop. We just can’t stop. The characters are hilarious. Some of the voices are so ridiculous, I can’t stop mimicking them. Someday when I drop Miles at school, I am totally going to act like Sid’s mom, dancing and giggling. Until Miles tells me to stop. Like after the first time I do it. I am such a huge fan of PBS, people. It just keeps getting better. First Sesame Street and then Curious George. And now Sid! Oh […]
There’s an elite group of bloggers out there. They’re rockin‘ the blogging party. They sit typing and smiling, clicking Publish Post and making us all pee our pants with laughter. They make my day many a day, giving me a chuckle and then a big laugh. They call themselves Mormon Mommy Bloggers. And I ask them now, are all Mormons this funny? And in their Classy McClass-Class style, they’ve shown up in a big way today. To help a friend and blogger near and dear, Stephanie and her husband, Christian (you can read about their plane crash and recovery situation over there, to the left, in my sidebar). Sue, from Navel Gazing at its Finest (awesomeness) had a light bulb moment, which you can read about here (and laugh a lot while you do it). And then Amy of The Lawsons did Dallas (more awesomeness) followed suit with more love and laughter here. […]
For three or four years now, Ryan has been receiving lots and lots of retirement information in the mail. We don’t know how it happened, but he got on a list somewhere. So AARP is his new best friend. Which brings me to yesterday when there was a knock on the door. (during nap-time of course, making the dog bark cause that’s just perfect, just as nice as during dinner.) I answered and a nice looking young man in a suit asked if he had woken any babies. I said, “I don’t know yet.” But then I tried to smile and be nice because I could tell he was feeling pretty sheepish. So I stood on the stoop, becoming self conscious about the yard with long enough grass to be a marsh, and the sea of plastic toys around the sidewalk where the nicely dressed smiling man was standing. Then I thought about […]
YES, you are! It’s me, Heather. I’m sitting here trying to do stuff my brain wasn’t intended to do! Work with computer codes and such!Bear with me as I change things around a bit here on da blog. I’m currently freaking out and trying to work out the kinks. Changing your blog is so stressful :) I’ll be sucking up to some of you later this afternoon. Yup that’s right. Second week of “Sunday Suck Ups” is here! Happy Sunday. See you later! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Many of you have heard about Stephanie, blogger at Love for Nie and her husband, Christian. They were in a private plane crash recently, which you can read about here, on Stephanie’s sister’s blog. She is posting updates regularly there. Stephanie and Christian have 4 small children and are both currently in a burn unit, very seriously injured. It will take months to recover. The blogging community is pulling together to donate, assisting the family with medical bills and household expenses as the parents of this beautiful family recover. Here is how you can help:Click on the Nie button on my sidebar to donate.Or,(*Update*)A site has been started to assist in fund-raising and benefits for the NieNie family. It holds a calendar of benefits and provides a way to join in on the “fund-raising fun.” Another lovely site, appropriately named, Nie Recovery. This beautiful family has been on my heart and mind. I […]
One word. Pandora. Have you heard? Are you addicted? Am I the last person on the face of the earth to use Pandora to keep my sanity, playing my tunes in the background, the soundtrack of my daily life? In case I’m not the last person to ever hear about this, the short explanation is that you put in a favorite artist or song and the site magically creates an entire “station” of music similar to the artist/song you prefer!!! How cool is that? And you can make as many stations as you want! I’m obsessed! It’s free and SO easy to use. Even for me. I need to go listen to my Sara Groves station now. So much fun. Music rocks the party. Go check out Pandora! (Oh, how I wish I were getting paid for these plugs.) Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading […]
I cannot write a real post. I have tried several times today and found that poop or crying has taken over. Or visits from friends and family (love that) have distracted me. Ah, foiled again. I sit down at the computer with ideas in mind and then….BOOM!….WAAAA!….or knock, knock….or ring ring ring…..or “PEW, what the H is that smell?”….Now. I sit here perplexed, having no idea what kind of lovely ideas I’ve had for posts all day–and there have been a whole lot of WONDERFUL ideas mind you! Well, maybe not…Now my mind is blank, distracted by the distant calls from the bedroom of “MOOOORE WAAAATER, MOMMY!!!!” I guess when life gets a bit nutty I’m not too good at getting organized and focused. Well okay, FINE, I’m never really all that good at getting organized and focused, especially when life is nutty. I feel all out of sorts and distant. So for […]
Such nice people over there at Five Minutes for Mom, boosting my mommy blogging ego. So maybe I’m not actually famous, but we can all pretend for a moment, right? Update: I’m so honored. More “5 Minute” love came my way from Kelly, writer at Love Well and Five Minutes for Parenting. Kelly mentioned my post The Wall on this week’s “You Moved Us.” Thank you, Kelly! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
In today’s bloggy news… A post of mine is featured on Bloggers Annex today. Checking out this new site will not disappoint. It’s a great way to find the best kind of bloggy goodness. In short, the Annex allows bloggers to join and then submit their posts to be featured, one new post per day. The posts that have been featured on the Annex are quite impressive. (I suppose that means I think mine is impressive. Which isn’t what I mean, but I guess I’ll have to sound conceited if I’m going to rave about the Annex.) Just go check it out if you haven’t already, okay? And join. And submit posts. It’s fun. Thank you and good day! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Maybe you’ve heard about this new video game, Fat Princess by Sony. Basically the object of the game is to feed cake to your ever-expanding princess, making her immobile. Who thinks this stuff up? I think I better keep my finger on the pulse of pop culture so as not to be totally clueless when my boys start the video game interest. Ugh. I used to play Nintendo. It was fun. I played with my dad. We bonded. I’m not totally against “gaming.” I definitely think it should be limited. Kids shouldn’t sit there all day playing games. Everything in moderation right? Unless they ask for this game. I’ve got to draw the line somewhere. This seems like a good place. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
What’s harder? Giving two over-tired boys who’ve eaten too much a bath? Or feeding over a hundred people at once? I realize there are a few variables. When feeding over a hundred there’s a large staff, maybe 1 volunteer to every 20 guests. When giving two boys a bath and getting ready for bed, there are only two. But that’s two boys to two parents. Easy peasy right? I left the festival last night after helping with dinner to run to my parent’s and help Ryan get the boys to bed. Getting the boys to bed seemed simple to me as I was driving out, thinking about how I’d give Ryan a hand for a little while and head back to Sonshine to help clean up since this was the last day. But life is full of little surprises… Speaking of surprises, that reminds me of the stupid dog and her lovely incident. […]
NO, not the boobers. They are not lifted whatsoever. Stop thinking about that, we’re moving on! There’s this great site called Mama Manifesto. I just thought I would mention that. Just for kicks. I’m just randomly mentioning Mama Manifesto. Like I said….for kicks. Maybe you should look at it (click right up there on “Mama Manifesto,” I mean you know, for kicks). I’ll wait right here…. ….. ….. Oh! Are you back? Good, glad you came back. HAAA! What fun! Me. There. A post on Mama Manifesto. What fun. Nice lady, Kristen, of the Manifesto (and other good things) seems really cool. I mean, I’ve never laid eyes on her in real life. But she writes really well, is genuine, funny and cute. If not for the timing of my post showing up on Mama Manifesto (simply put-a day brightener for me), I may have counted this as one of the worst days […]
There is a question being raised on a blog I read;The blogging thing…why do you do it? I get emails or comments every once and again from moms who are in the same rockin‘ little boat that I’m in. Moms who know what it’s like to be “in the trenches.” Moms who waver through bouts of sleep-deprivation and frustration and move into days of joy and thankfulness. Moms who know exactly what I mean when I talk about a toddler tantrum or colic. Moms who need to connect as much as I do. That’s why I sit here almost every day and share from my heart. Because I know I need that sense of community, and am more than thankful to give it to someone else. Sometimes I think too much about what I’m going to say and picture certain people who I know are reading and try to win their approval. Sometimes […]
I’ve had an oldies station on all day today. For kicks. It’s not cool that they play Billy Joel and call it “oldies,” but whatever. They’re currently playing Thank You for Being a Friend (you know the theme from Golden Girls). I ask myself and you, why do I like this song so much? So fluffy and cheesy and just…well, not even good. But I just feel all light-hearted when I hear it. So…thank you for being a friend. Traveling down the road and back again. Your heart is true. You’re a pal and a confidant. And if you threw a party and invited everyone you know, you would see the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say “thank you for bein‘ a friend.” um. They also played Muskrat Love and I thought, what the H is muskrat love and is it good? Have you ever noticed that […]
A friend and I were talking about how the 4th of July is kind of like New Year’s. You feel like you have to do something exciting or you’re weird. Maybe it’s because of where we grew up. Where the yearly 4th of July bash was the thing to look forward to. Starting in about 7th grade, we could be found standing around the food-n-fuel parking lot, bangs ratted to oblivion, watching a town of two thousand turn into a town of more like ten thousand. It was very exciting for us to see all of our resort and camping friends, and those that spent their summers with us at their lake homes. Even if we weren’t old enough to drive, we were still so cool. Who knew what friend from another town we might bump into, how scandalous! Who knew where we were going to run into that certain boy? We’d walk […]
Yes, YOU! Well, I mean if you happen to be a mom (not that I’m against childless people, I just happen to need to ask the moms a couple of questions). I’m embarking on a bit of an adventure with a friend and I need a moment of your time. So if you could take a few steps with us for awhile as we begin the journey, it would be much appreciated. By me. And someone else, who for now is remaining nameless. She’s overly talented and underly arrogant, so if I say she and I are thinking of writing something together she might feel sheepish. So I refuse to name her. Stop asking. (Maybe I should feel more sheepish too since I say things like “underly arrogant.”) Anyway, GET TO THE POINT, right? If you so happen to be a mom, I need to ask you two quite personal questions. For good […]
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 […]
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
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 […]
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
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 […]
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 […]
We had a weird sun/rain/clouds/blue sky/thunder storm this evening. We enjoyed it a lot. There’s just something about seeing sun and rain at the same time, with a little thunder in the distance. Here are some photos from our adventures… This is Miles catching rain drops. This is also what he looks like when he’s really mad and yelling: What are we doing? We are running up and down the sidewalk in the rain. Just for kicks. I know it doesn’t appear to be raining, but it really was. I think. But I can’t be sure. I don’t sleep much and sometimes my mind plays tricks on me. I suppose all little boys love water, puddles, mud and worms. Miles likes to try to make sure the worms are getting enough water. We found a dry and very dead worm today and Miles promptly put it on the hood of the car and […]
I don’t know what I’m going to do. I keep looking at my favorite blogs and then clicking on each person’s link list and then I find 4 (or 7) more cool people to spy on and I can’t stop. Someone help me. I’ve become addicted to blog surfing. I can’t stop. I can admit it. Hello, my name is Heather and I can’t stop reading blogs. I never would have imagined this could happen to me. But there are so many lovely people out there being funny and the temptation is just too much for me! You’d think I’d run across more duds, but I don’t. These are funny people. People I want to have coffee (or wine) with and talk for hours. People with my sense of humor and really great stories. Oh no, my poor kids. I’m about to start neglecting them…. Okay, I got that off my chest. Now […]
Miles and Max had their first cousin sleep-over in the same room! There were a ton of bubbles to blow (Zach): And we took the opporunity to enlist the boys for some child labor: I guess it wasn’t labor to them, since it involved DIRT… These boys play so well together, it’s almost tempting to have more babies/playmates for the future. I said ALMOST. For now, it’s nice to borrow the cousins, but very sad to see them go. Especially when you look down at a droopy, moist-eyed little Miles while he says “bye Max…” Best buds, they are. Best buds. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
What have I done? I went to the nice hair-cutting lady and I said, “you can make it a little more severe than last time.” What did I mean? I just meant a LITTLE. But she took it is an invitation to make me Posh Spice…or Victoria Beckam or whatever you want to call her. At first this was fine. Because she did my hair and it was all “cute and sassy,” as my friend Cassie described it. But of course I then realized it would never look the same again because of that whole thing about stylists being the only ones who can do what they do. That wasn’t even the worst part though. I went to bed and woke up with the worst bed head in years!!! This “do” will not do pillows! What do I do now? I can’t go three days without showering and I need to sometimes! Unless […]
