He didn’t want to go outside when Miles asked. He wanted nothing to do with it, actually. Until he remembered what happens when they come in from outside.His thoughts were something like this…Oh yeah…the warm-up cocoa…which brought onthis… {as he’s running away he’s saying, and then I really want hot cocoa} {and that little blip of me at the end is from an old video I posted and am now trying to record over. Please forgive} {and just pretend my storage space office is super clean and orderly} So. We put on pants and then socks and then snow pants and then a coat and then he added a scarf (of mine) and then a hat (of Daddy’s) and then two mismatched mittens and then boots and then he went out for no longer than 5 minutes and then he was back at the sliding glass door shouting for cocoa. And I quote, […]
He didn’t want to go outside when Miles asked. He wanted nothing to do with it, actually. Until he remembered what happens when they come in from outside.His thoughts were something like this…Oh yeah…the warm-up cocoa…which brought onthis… {as he’s running away he’s saying, and then I really want hot cocoa} {and that little blip of me at the end is from an old video I posted and am now trying to record over. Please forgive} {and just pretend my storage space office is super clean and orderly} So. We put on pants and then socks and then snow pants and then a coat and then he added a scarf (of mine) and then a hat (of Daddy’s) and then two mismatched mittens and then boots and then he went out for no longer than 5 minutes and then he was back at the sliding glass door shouting for cocoa. And I quote, […]
He didn’t want to go outside when Miles asked. He wanted nothing to do with it, actually. Until he remembered what happens when they come in from outside.His thoughts were something like this…Oh yeah…the warm-up cocoa…which brought onthis… {as he’s running away he’s saying, and then I really want hot cocoa} {and that little blip of me at the end is from an old video I posted and am now trying to record over. Please forgive} {and just pretend my storage space office is super clean and orderly} So. We put on pants and then socks and then snow pants and then a coat and then he added a scarf (of mine) and then a hat (of Daddy’s) and then two mismatched mittens and then boots and then he went out for no longer than 5 minutes and then he was back at the sliding glass door shouting for cocoa. And I quote, […]
He didn’t want to go outside when Miles asked. He wanted nothing to do with it, actually. Until he remembered what happens when they come in from outside.His thoughts were something like this…Oh yeah…the warm-up cocoa…which brought onthis… {as he’s running away he’s saying, and then I really want hot cocoa} {and that little blip of me at the end is from an old video I posted and am now trying to record over. Please forgive} {and just pretend my storage space office is super clean and orderly} So. We put on pants and then socks and then snow pants and then a coat and then he added a scarf (of mine) and then a hat (of Daddy’s) and then two mismatched mittens and then boots and then he went out for no longer than 5 minutes and then he was back at the sliding glass door shouting for cocoa. And I quote, […]
My boys have been fighting about who gets to sit on the far end of the couch for about ten minutes. There is much growling and gnashing of teeth. Somehow this spot on the couch has become very special and this is a very heated discussion. Each of them have great logic for why they are the one that should sit on that spot. Humans are just too much. I’m not intervening unless someone gets hurt. I’m all about not hovering or mirco-managing. Or maybe I’m just feeling extra lazy today. It could totally be that. Yesterday on Twitter Casey and I were lamenting winter. She’s pregnant too and she said, hibernation and gestation is the name of the game. Now that keeps running through my head and making me feel better because I’m an exhausted gestating mother in the winter in Minnesota and I kind of wish I were a bear because […]
There are many options for attempting to get rid of a bad case of the hiccups: Eating a spoonful of peanut butter Eating a spoonful of sugar Eating a spoonful of frozen OJ concentrate Putting a paper towel over a glass and drinking through said paper towel* Plugging your ears and nose and having someone feed you a glass of water while your hands are otherwise occupied with the plugging of orifices* Drinking a glass of water upside down-ish (Don’t ask, it’s hard to explain in writing.)* Holding your breath while swallowing three times Blowing up a balloon, especially when you don’t know how Taking the deepest breath ever and then forcing yourself to swallow when you absolutely cannot hold your breath any longer Or I suppose you could just wait, but this has become my least favorite idea. (The *’s are for the ones I had heard of before but had forgotten. […]
I had the honor of speaking at the Type-A Mom Conference in Asheville, North Carolina last weekend. I had such a great time, I really did. If you’re considering conferences in your future, this is an excellent choice, yes, even if you are SO not Type-A, like moi. The sessions were informative, enriching and inspiring, the location was beautiful and the size and flow of the conference itself were just perfect. A big thank you to Kelby for all the hard work making this gig happen. Lady, it was so good. ~~~~~I thought I’d take a moment to tell you what Type A moms are like.In an effort to keep you informed. Ahem… Type-A moms are: always connected… Arianne and creating… Allie and energetic… Danielle and fantastic… Katherine Megan Sara Sophia Ashleigh and willing to eat fancy desserts with me… maple vanilla cake at French Broad Chocolate Lounge (I ate every last bite) […]
First glimpse (isn’t glimpse a weird word?) (Gu-limp-sah)Dining Lighting (and orange curtains and gray paint) About one hundred years ago, I started a new “series” here on the EO called One Room at a Time. The idea was to show you a before and after photo as we finish updating each room of our not-so-new-to-us-anymore house. I said that we were doing one room every weekend. (I have no idea why I would say such a completely ridiculous and unfeasible thing.) We’ve been plugging away slowly but surely (and sporadically) on The House of EO, yo. So…I haven’t completely forgotten about the One Room at a Time thing. It’s just that we have yet to entirely finish even one room since the office. If we were artists that paint, let’s just say that we’d be the type of painters that draw something out and start to fill in the green of the grass […]
All week I tried to prepare for speaking to my Minnesota blogging cronies. I tried and tried and felt more and more scattered and then more and more anxious due to the unpreparedness. I got in the elevator on Saturday morning with Minnesota JoY (who saved me in the parking lot by generously giving me the parking fee I neglected to remember to bring) and Matt Logelin and Chris Ann from LoveFeast Table. That was a really good start. I asked Matt if he wasready for his keynote.He said no.I felt better.(Did you notice how I just said that last thing Logelin-style?) (Am clever.)Check out the lovely place we were able to call home all day Saturday. (A big thank you to CoCo for allowing a bunch of Internet Geeks to take over their space.) Yeah, you betcha. I want to work there. The commute would be Uff Da Long, but the huge […]
{This post was written in the spirit of Letters From a Nut by Ted L. Nancy. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, there’s a small chance this could still be funny. This was written one night in the hotel room while at BlogHer, when Ellie and I were at our giddiest. You’re welcome.} ~~~~~~~~ Dear Blogging Conference, We wanted to write to you today to express some gratitude, opinions, questions and ideas. As your conference comes to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on our weekend and we are filled with many over-flowing emotions. Please give this letter to the highest of higher ups, so they can know about these emotions. We are the people. We are the bloggers. We are tired, and even so, we deserve to be heard, we the people-bloggers. As a side note, please be sure to consider our status in this subculture. We are known. […]
I have a boy here who eats broccoli and puts himself to bed when he’s tired. (Yes, I follow him to tuck and kiss, who do you think I am, Miss Hannigan?) (Annie, people. Stick with me, here. I’m talking about that mean orphanage lady from Annie.) (Although, Miss Hannigan did love alcoholic beverages…but that’s our only similarity, I hope.) (No worries, I haven’t fallen off the wagon.) Anyway. Check it… It’s a hard-knock life. (The title of this post is also from Annie and is not meant to lead you to believe that something really amazing is happening tomorrow. But there is one thing. We get to go see my Grandma. Hi Gram! Love you!) Happy weekend, friends. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Hi, my name is Heather and I’m here because I have a story to tell. Actually, pretty much everything I’m experiencing as of late is coming alive with what my friend Ann calls a fireworks display of story-telling. I feel like a bit of a spectator to myself, while I watch doors opening like I never even once dreamed they would. Click, the locks are turned and the creak of the swinging door blasts through my ears while I wait for the BANG! It’s exhilarating and shocking and terrifying. I sit dumbfounded at the chance to share my entire story, all that my heart-gut leads me to tell, through a book. I will meet with an agent in New York City while I am there for the BlogHer conference. I will sign my name. And then I will surrender to the chaos of life as I juggle writing, motherhood, being a wife, blogging […]
All this time, I’ve been photoshopping our teeth. We actually have terrible dental hygiene. Just thought you should know. ___________ Also. A little while ago, I shared the details of my Motherhood and Addiction story over at Missy’s place. The comments were open for questions. A Hazelden expert has answered those questions today, if you’d like to take a look. Thank you all for your birthday wishes for Asher earlier today. You rock the birthday party. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
balanceshoulddisciplineandmoist I am not the biggest fan of these words. All of them are elusive (a word I do like). Well, okay, maybe not moist, that’s not elusive…it’s just icky. I’ve written about how I feel about balance many times, about how unattainable it is. If I’m going to mother, I’m going to have an UNbalanced life, that’s the reality. And either I can accept that, or get swallowed in the anger and tension of trying to fight for a balance that remains out of reach no matter how DISCIPLINED I am. I’m getting a tiny bit better at this acceptance thing, but man, some days I just want to scream at should and discipline and balance. Like a mad woman-just screaming until my furrowed forehead and wide open mouth get stuck in their angry wrinkle-inducing expressions. Maybe that’s what I should do, just discipline myself to let it all out, going off […]
Obviously, I could not think of a title for this post. Allison called me to let me know. (Because she is so often my brain and has figured out by now that I would most likely be oblivious if left on my own without her brain.) Her message said, You’ve been nominated in two categories for a BlogLuxe Award. I just wanted you to know they have your link wrong on the site. Congratulations! (Of course, her lovely humility prevented her from also telling me that she herself is nominated in 2 categories.) (GO ALLISON!) All I heard was, “You’ve been nominated.” And then I was just completely confused. Me? Huh? Wha? I found out my (also nominated-for Rage Against the Minivan) friend Kristen (thank you, lady) is one of the people who nominated The Extraordinary Ordinary for this lovely thing~ (this is a picture I stole from the very deservingly nominated, Casey […]
A good friend called recently and told me that she woke up one morning with characters having a conversation in her head. (No, she’s not hallucinating…she’s imagining. Which is totally different. Kind of.) She said that a story just up and started to unfold, right there, without her trying to conjure it up, and that these characters continue their own story every day all on their own. She simply writes down what they’re doing and saying after she listens in on them. Back when we had this conversation, my friend had written over 250 pages. In 3 weeks. Dude. She had no dream or intention of writing a book. It just kinda happened to her, and now she’s got the bug and she just can’t stop thinking about her book and she can’t stop writing. Uh yeah, I’m totally jealous. I’m not gonna lie. I do want to write a book. I’ve wanted […]
This is Heather. She’s not naked. Her dress is strapless. But you knew that. Yes. Yet another Heather born in the 70’s. Heather is one of my dearest friends, and she was married last weekend. It was a beautiful day full of bluegrass music and sun and friends and family. I love my Heather, and have since elementary school. We’re Heather squared, or The Heathers. The day before the wedding, I happened upon a new shoppe in the small town in which we live. I opened the door with low expectations. After all, this is rural Minnesota so let’s just say the shopping is…limited. And then a miracle occurred. Well, okay. Maybe it wasn’t a miracle. I mean, I don’t even really LIKE shopping much at all. But do you wanna know what I do like? Knowing that all I have to do is go to ONE store and I will love everything […]
I wish I could show you Allison’s shoes and her cutest ever Gussy bag.And then maybe I would describe how fast Jessica Bern can type. (She’s doing that right next to me.)I wish I could tell you how curly in the most perfect way is the hair on my roomie’s pretty noggin.I wish I could put words to the rockin‘ bangs on Kristen Howerton, my other roommate. They are so swoopy and gleamy (see? no words). But even more than those very important things, I wish you could meet them (and the many of others I’ve come to know and love at this conference and online and at other conferences). I wish there were a way to wrap up a post in such a way that would make blogging/online relationships make sense in words. But these relationships that are based on words can’t be described with words. Oh, the irony. Let me just […]
You guys. I’m hopefully not slipping or sliding, but I am going away today! CBC ’10, here I come! (And I’m extra excited about the conference now because I’m part of a surprise and that is so fun and exciting but I can’t tell you because it’s a surprise and so you will know later-not now.) I kissed and hugged my boys like crazy last night and sent them to Nanny and Bapa’s house. I will not see them again until Sunday or maybe even Monday, if they’re in bed when I return on Sunday night. Weird. I’m quite in love with them and will miss them with my heart panging around. Here is one of them, the Asher variety, having some summer fun (which must always include water guns and Oreos, in my humble opinion)… The cheeks. La sigh…. Alright, Peeps. Lots of love to you. Can I tell you how glad […]
I am currently eating a bagel just as fast as I can. Dear Digestive System,please don’t be mad, I’m in a hurry.Love,Overwhelmed I leave for Utah in just 2 days. There I will be attending the Casual Blogger Conference and also doing a little speaking. Today I am kidless and working hard at preparing for the speaking and whitening my teeth. Because, you know, people might think my teeth are yellow while I’m waxing philosophical about blogging in front of them. Or something. I’ve printed out my itinerary and the conference agenda and tickets for this and tickets for that and apparently this is really happening. I shall now sit back and tell myself (burp) that everything is going to be just fine. Yesterday I went to get loads of groceries in an effort to continue my job as wife and mother while I’m away. I was starting to feel the stress of […]
I’m a big fan of owls. The other day, my friend gave me a big fat owl to sit outside my front door. He greets people.(He’s not a real live owl, he’s a decorative one.) I would have taken a picture of him to show you, but it’s pouring outside right now, so he’s busy. I don’t know what I mean by that.Owls can turn their heads all the way around, isn’t that mind blowing?They’re like mothers. I’m also a big fan of garage sales. Yesterday we found an area rug that’s just perfect for our family room. It has orange and gray in it, and so do our family and dining rooms. So it matches.But my socks don’t.I’m not a fan of matching clothing. Ryan is not a fan of germs and so he’s a bit concerned that something horrible is lurking in this garage sale rug. He just told the boys, […]
He is so often carefree and unaffectedso sure of loveand centered in fatherhood He is quirkyin the best possible waysand he has too many watchesand I roll my eyeswhen he dons the hatand the penny loafers He thinks every man should mow inpenny loafers He’s my friend and my support andmy laughterAnd today is his birthday I love you, Taco Headyou are so good to me And really, who am I to call him quirky? Like my shoes and socks,we’re a match madein Heaven. 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 so much fun to be had in a cabinet.You can even pretend you’re a really meantrapped and angry bear But then you might start thinkingAm I really trapped in here?I’m actually just a person I might want to get out sometimetaptaptap…helpHI-YAH! Oh my…one of the terrible bearshas escaped! And the other bear is…astonished!Brother Bear, I shall FREE YOU!!! AAATTTAAAACK HER!!!!I love being attacked. It is a privilege and an honor and a joy to call these two bears mine… Happy Mother’s Day, friends! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
UPDATE: I fixed it-it’s full length now!Color me proud. Except now I’m not that proud becauseWOW, wait until you get to the end and I do a random and disturbing impression.Seriously. WHAT is wrong with me? I really can’t believe I did this. I’m so not a vlogger.You can tell by the horrible lighting and all the fidgeting.I must really love you.Here goes…nothin‘… Thank you from Heather King on Vimeo. I know. I know. That thing at the end. I don’t know…And what? You callin‘ me a sappy sapperton?Well…yeah.Word. The Maggie I speak of is Maggie Dammit, of course. Just sayin‘. And the post I speak of is here, at Missy’s place. The End. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
This is a tiny little corner of the old house turned coffee shop where I love to go and sit and write in the quiet. Then other times, it’s louder because Jen or Mackenzie or Annette or Lana meets me there and we laugh. Loudly. I hope Heaven is like LuLu Beans with its peaceful quiet and then happy loud. (Minus the blisters from the ruby red slippers-I could do without those. I hear there are no blisters in Heaven anyway, so it’s really not a worry.) Happy Sunday. P.S. I guess they’re more like fire engine red, but let’s just pretend I’m Dorothy in LuLu Oz. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
This week’s You Capture assignment was Work. I do so much work, there are just simply an endless amount of pictures to choose from-me scrubbing the kitchen floor, me shoveling the driveway, me lugging laundry baskets…but I think I’ll go with this one, for Beth… OK fine. I don’t actually have any pictures of that other stuff. Now back to the weird picture… First of all, it is a whole lot of work getting your mouth puckered like that. Just enough to look very serious about cleaning the bathroom, which is what I was about to do. (Which is the epitome of work, is it not? The bathroom? Gross.) Also, it’s kind of a work of art, getting the pucker to create jowls like that. (I even edited some of the jowl/wrinkles, no lie.) Let me guess what your questions are. Heather, how do we know you were working in this picture? Why […]
Sunday~December 13, 2009 Yesterday I had a bit of a breakdown. Then I felt guilty and weak. I’m beginning to think that’s the root of many a mother’s problem, this inability to allow ourselves some grace for being simply human. This expectation we put on ourselves to be strong and under control and unaffected by how hard life can be much of the time. We forget to feel, to simply say this is hard, feeling the emotion of it, really feeling it, taking a little care of ourselves and then moving on. We suppress it instead, thinking we must just keep going, and then sooner or later it’s just too much. We tell ourselves we have it easier than so many others so buck up self! When really, yes, there are all different degrees of hard…but they’re all still hard. Anyway… This morning I woke up feeling better than I have all month, […]
December 7, 2009 I haven’t sent out any Christmas cards yet. I haven’t addressed any envelopes or licked any stamps either. I have ordered some Christmas cards though, and for that I’m proud. I mean, c’mon. We’ve had the swine flu and a plethora of other diseases over here. AND we’re moving at the end of December. Any kind of Christmas card at all really is actually quite an amazing accomplishment, if I do say so myself. The cards I ordered (which I’ll show you in a future post) actually don’t even have pictures of our family on them. GASP! (yes that was you. YOU. I heard you gasp!) I know, I know, alright? But don’t you worry, the cards are still really cool. I just couldn’t find the time to dig through the gazillions of photos I have saved to find just the right ones. I mean, there are so many absolutely […]
Thursday~December 3, 2009 Untitled from Beth Fletcher on Vimeo. If you’re totally confused, that was ten seconds of completely ridiculous hilarity.How about those animated faces? Starring:Steph as Speaker #1Heather as Speaker #2Beth as Voice #1 and Voice #2 Videography:Beth THIS is why we had to plan CUPCAKE ’10We need to do weird things and then laughuntil our cheeks hurt all over again. Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Friday~October 9th, 2009 My kids are growing up so much faster than I am. I realized this once again because Ryan and I have been making Big Adult Decisions lately. BigAdultDecisions Ha! Get it? B.A.D… Anyway, so much of the time, I simply can’t believe I’m in the role of making grown-up decisions. Like it’s all an elaborate trick, or maybe I’ve been hallucinating. I quite like being a grown-up in many ways, and I’m really glad that our children are not hallucinations, but still…I have a tendency to get overwhelmed by the B.A.D. part of being an adult. Look. Even Miles notices my stress level… (please note the frown line between my eyes) (and the candy corn nose, I like that part.) There’s a lot on our little family’s plate right now (and no, I’m not pregnant), so I’m going to have to take my B.A.D. self to task and do these […]
