Some of my favorite photos of G’pa Glenn… The first, he and wife, G’ma Helen. I love the second one because this is SO him, being all silly and cheesy to get a laugh… The third, last year at his birthday party, still smiling. He was the bomb diggity. The funeral was a true celebration, full of good memories and laughter, just as he would have wanted. Thank you all for your comments and emails – you’re the bomb diggity too! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
well, at least in my blog world it seems to be true. So I was inspired… 5 Things: 5 things I can’t live without under $10-1. Burt’s Beeswax chapstick2. Pacifier for Asher3. Star Trib (keeps Ryan happy since I have no time to do so)4. Kleenex travel packs5. Fruit Snacks 5 Girl names I love-1. Elsie2. Josie3. Lauren4. Gizmo (okay, I don’t have anymore) 5 Boy names I love-1. Miles2. Asher (shut up, obviously I love the names…)3. Gavin4. Josiah (shout out to Em)5. Michael 5 songs I could listen to over and over-I can’t do it. I just can’t do it. Because if I listen truly over and over, I do get sick of them and I just can’t get sick of them… 5 things in my handbag at all times (aka diaper bag)-1. Diaps2. Wipes3. Hand sanitizer4. Snacks5. phoneSO BORING 5 Obsessions I have right now-1. Trader Joe’s2. Blogs3. Writing4. Coffee5. […]
Potty training is stumping me. I’m a slightly creative mother, but Miles is certainly out-witting his mom on this one. I have tried all the tricks. But he continues to toy with my hopes of a diaper-free three year old. For some reason I have set a goal of age three, as in by his birthday. As in next month.Now I know all you lovely mothers out there are smiling and rolling your eyes. Don’t think you’re fooling me. You’re thinking, “oh, Heather just you wait, it’ll be fine…he’ll get it….when he’s ‘ready’ silly lady.” (Or something like that) .So I’ll try to believe that as I clean pee off the dining room chair while Miles stands next to the table dripping wet, calmly continuing to eat his dinner. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
It must be weird to be a baby. Sometimes I think about this when bringing Asher to the car. He has no idea where we’re going because even if I tell him, most of it’ll be lost in translation. And he has no choice in the matter. He simply gets picked up and lugged around whether he likes it or not. Then there’s meal time. Imagine random pureed foods, shoveled into your mouth without you ever getting to say what you’re in the mood for. No one says, “hey Asher, how ’bout some strained peas?” And since he can’t talk, it’s not like he’d really be able to object anyway. I started thinking about this today when Asher woke from a very short nap and cried out. I tried the rush in, grope around in the dark, find the pacifier and shove it in his mouth approach. He didn’t go for it. And […]
Everyone thinks our dog, Tia is a pit bull. And I guess she could be a pit bull, but we don’t know for sure. The Rescue said she was an American Staffordshire Terrier, which looks like this: A pit bull looks like this: Tia looks like this: Hence the confusion. We haven’t mistreated her (besides occasionally going too many days without a walk), or trained her to fight. She’s been with us since she was three months old. She’s the sweetest dog you could ever meet. She is perfectly patient and easy-going when it comes to wee ones. The problem with Tia is that she does look like a pit bull and sometimes she lives up to her name when it comes to other four-legged creatures. Like yesterday when Ryan and Miles took her to the park. Dad and son were happily hitting golf balls while Tia was attached to a pole on […]
It’s not so much the presence of snow and cold that get me. It’s more about the absence of sun, green grass and leaves, flowers, and that new smell in the air. If this nasty weather continues, you can find me on the fifth floor at Regions hospital, sitting with the unspeller (click on original post) and other folks, hallucinating and talking to myself. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
My birthday isn’t until the end of May, but I’m already super excited for it. I’m usually not, but this year my birthday falls about a week before the International Justice Mission’s Minneapolis banquet. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about going to something in a very long time. My Mom and Dad made it possible for the four of us (mom, dad, my sister, Shelly and I) to go! And I consider this the best birthday gift ever. Mostly because I’m such a believer in this human rights organization. But secondly, Sara Groves is the musical guest, and everyone knows I’m more than a big fan. Also, there’s no way I’d be able to spend the money to go, even though it’s well worth it in my mind. So I’m more thankful than words can say. I thought I’d share a little more about IJM today. So the first link is […]
Mark your calendars! Ryan’s brother Dave and “The Bad Plus” are going to be on “The Conan O’Brien Show” this Friday night! We’re so excited for them. If you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, “The Bad Plus” is Dave’s jazz band. Give them a listen. Good stuff-jazz trio (piano, bass and drums). Dave is the drummer. I’ve never seen anything like Dave playing the drums in my life. I’m not just referring to the funny faces he makes, working so hard and getting so involved in the music, it’s just simply amazing to see such a gift! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
A fellow blogging mom from AZ inspired me to make a list. A list of 100 things that I’m grateful for. Or simply good things in my life/things I love. I read through her list and felt the need to make my own. It will be a good reminder, especially during this winter that seems to never end, to look at life differently. To realize that there are at least 100 little beauties in every day, every moment even. So here it goes. I’m sure I’ll have to come back to this about 100 times in order to finish it, but what (or shall I say who) is pulling me away will be good inspiration for “the list.” I’m sure that when I’m done, I’ll finish with describing why the list was so cathartic. #1 (even if daddy looks a bit drunk) 2. How Miles laughs like his daddy. 3. The way Asher […]
Here I am with my new haircut. Isn’t it cute? I told you I would look ten pounds lighter! Okay, so it’s not me. It’s Tyra from Friday Night Lights and we now have the same hair. At least the way the stylist made it look. I will never again repeat how she made it look, I’m confident of that, but I got to look like Tyra for a day anyway and that was fun. I can NEVER make my hair look the way the stylists make it look after they cut it. They can give me the tutorial about how to blow dry it, how to use the round brush and what kind of product to put in it, and I still cannot repeat the cuteness. It kind of confuses me actually. I mean how hard can it be? It doesn’t look that hard while they’re doing it. I always have this […]
We blew into my parent’s on Saturday, happy to be off the roads and out of the white-out conditions we adventured. We blew in at the same time as my sister and her family. Miles could not have been more excited to be at “Nanny and Bapa’s.” He really loves it there. He hardly talks to mommy and daddy if he’s there with cousins, Zach and Max. He is way too busy for us! Those boys sure are busy. This morning Miles found my mascara while we were preparing to leave Nanny and Bapa’s. He had it out and had his work done by the time my mom caught him. He did a pretty good job, actually. He said “I look beautiful mommy.” Well, yes, I suppose, but please don’t do that anymore, you could hurt your eyes if you got it in them. “Why?” He really did get it right on his […]
MY GLASSES ARRIVED TODAY!!! What kind of person gets overly excited about glasses? ME. It’s something new and different, what can I say? Thanks to Tiff and Grady and their complimentary eye exam and glasses, my right eye is currently breathing a sigh of relief. Tiff said it was doing all the work. And leftie is currently wondering why everything is so clear. I decided that once my glasses came it was time for a make-over. SO, I’m going to get a semi-drastic haircut and possibly color. AND I’m going to wear make-up. Who knows, maybe I’ll even lose ten pounds and have a tan before we know it…. OR, my glasses will miraculously make me LOOK ten pounds lighter and bronzed! Ah, yes, it’s the little things that make my day. I called Lana the minute the UPS truck got here because we’ve both been so excited. She was so happy to […]
I need to make an addendum to my last post. I was thinking that I was a bit harsh-sounding about the non-thinkers. I was sort of rambling (shocking) and not articulating what I really meant about non-thinkers. So now I’m over-thinking what I thought about the non-thinkers! Just know that if you’re a non-thinker, I realize that sometimes it’s simply a blessing to NOT be so reflective and ridiculously contemplative. To just roll with life. I admire it.Also, right after I wrote the last post, I got a call from Lana, saying she was about to drop by. I had spoken with her earlier in the day when I was uncontrollably laughing over how tired I was and how I had been answering the millionth “why” of the day. She can relate, and she said something about how she has a hard time if her husband is gone for a night, let alone […]
This is my shamelss plug for Friday Night Lights. I will be so sad if it goes off the air simply because people never gave it a chance! Watch it, you may like it! It’s much more than a football show. Friday nights (easy to remember) on NBC (I think). This is the only show Ryan and I fully agree on and sit down and watch together when we can. I’m not even sure what it is that I like so much, it’s just different and good. Give ‘er a try… So that’s what we did on Friday night… Saturday we hung out at home mostly. Ryan and Miles went to the library and got a couple movies cause Miles was still feeling kinda sick. I went to see my Grandpa with Auntie Kay and then had dinner with her, which is always a treat. Well, her treat. But a real treat all […]
I have returned from the great state of Washington (rainy, but a sizzling 35 degrees). Lana and I spent a few days with Tiffany, Grady, Chloe (18mos) and Sam (5 weeks). We ran errands and cleaned house. When I say cleaned house, I smile because we really cleaned house. When you know a preemie with a virus is on the mend and about to come home to be quarantined to his bedroom, you really want all the germs to go bye-bye. There is currently more bleach in Washington than the state can handle on account of our neurotic scrubbing. It sure felt good. We kept joking that we should clean like this at home, but we really wouldn’t do anything else if we tried that. When you spend five minutes bleaching one light switch before moving on to the next, you know you have problems. Anyway, it was so great to help out […]
Let’s just say I’m a really big fan of Bono. I’ve always loved U2’s music. Then about seven years ago I came across a book about U2, and as I read it I developed a great respect for Bono. Previously I had no idea he was that hard at work in the world. I knew he had a reputation for “doing good,” but I had no idea what level of good. I love the way he spins the issues, eloquently revealing the reality of the situation in Africa, without placing blame. In my humble opinion, many of the strides forward he has made, came about because of his diplomatic, sensible arguments about bettering the lives of others, and his way with words. To read or hear his take on aid to Africa will make you a believer that something really can be done. That’s no small feat. In short, I’m thankful there are […]
Today Ryan and I worked on some Christmas gifts via the internet. I have to say I LOVE being able to do that. I like to get gifts for other people, but I really don’t like the hustle and bustle of crowded stores. It makes me somewhat claustrophobic and panicky. Especially if people are crabby, which 9 times out of 10 they are because they’re all stressed about holiday business. Pretty silly. You can come around a corner and almost run into someone and say politely to them, “oh, excuse me, I’m sorry,” and they’ll scowl at you and storm off. It’s so weird. Ba Humbug.Anyway. I was thinking while creating something on-line that there are people somewhere with jobs related to what I’m doing. They come up with the product and how to say things on their web-site and how to order, etc. That got me thinking of jobs in general. Every […]
You know that song, “give me the beat boys and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away.” When I was a kid I thought they were saying “give me the Beach Boys…” I love it when people mis-hear lyrics, it’s hilarious. Like when Phoebe on Friends sings that Elton John song, Tony Danza. Is Tiny Dancer right? Anyway…So if you have a moment please share some mis-heard lyrics with me, it’ll make me smile and I could use a smile. I’m about to fall asleep standing up. I love music. I love words put to song. My favorite singer/songwriter is Sara Groves. I guess you could say she’s a “Contemporary Christian artist,” but her stuff is way different than other gospel/Christian stuff that you’d hear on say, KTIS. To be honest, a lot of that music makes me want to crawl out of my skin […]
This photo was captured after I found Miles had gotten into my underwear drawer. As you can see, he couldn’t quite figure out how they work. That’s a bit like how I feel about blogging. I was inspired by my friend, Kelly to do this blogging thing. I’m SO not computer smart, but since Ryan is, I can always ask him questions. Okay, so I already have twice today (second time he answered his phone, “blog hotline” – cute). I think this is an excellent way to keep people updated and to be in touch as life gets crazier all the time! And I have to admit, this is quite a fun thing to learn. Hopefully I’ll faithfully report current “important” information about our family. Like how the potty training is going (hasn’t), and whether or not we’ve gotten any sleep lately (haven’t).P.S. I like to ramble, so watch out! Thank you for […]
If you’d like to learn more about sponsored space rates and sizes, please inquire via the email address at the end of this post. ::::: * The Extraordinary Ordinary won the BlogLuxe Award for Blog You’ve Learned the Most From in August of 2010. * Heather King was named one of the Nielsen Rating’s Top 50 Power Moms of 2009. (Sites are chosen based on traffic, comments, content, and online influence.) * Heather was chosen to speak at Blissdom, Type A Parent, The Casual Blogger Conference, The I_Blog conference and The Minnesota Blogger Conference. * Heather is on the core team behind the Creative Alliance event held annually in the beautiful Ojai Valley in California. This event is a ground-breaking meeting of the minds, bringing together a variety of influential creative online influencers for connection, relaxation and learning. * Heather is an editor for Story Bleed Magazine, an online art and lit magazine […]
email me:heatheroftheeo (at) gmail (dot) com twitter me:twitter(dot)com(slash)HeatheroftheEO or carrier pigeon, whichever. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
When people ask what do you do, I say, I Mom a lot. Then if they ask if I work outside the home I answer no, I work in it and then I add, I’m a writer or I’m a blogger. (Then other times I confuse them with, I’m a wrogger because blogger + writer = wrogger.) I wonder sometimes if these answers count, even though I know that it all counts, and that’s why I tell stories here. Before I was a mother, I worked in social work, providing services for people struggling with mental illness. Sometimes I miss that, but most of the time I love that I stay at home with my boys and write from my office/den/guest room. I’m on a bumpy road to recovery from addiction and I write about it here, hopefully not all the time because I am so much more than it. Recovery is […]
Addiction and Recovery:Hi, my name is Heather In a safe place The Stone I Carry You bouncing Motherhood:Remember Ours Passing the Bed Marriage and Life:One way or the other (the dust bunny post) Rewriting My Name Layers Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
