Author Archives: Heather

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About Heather

I adore my family, writing, books, cats, lazy mornings in bed, and chocolate. I'll never say no to breakfast for dinner, long talks with friends and lazy summer days at the pool with family. My life is often crazy, always awesome and one I'm so happy to be living! My side hustle is editing and proofing work. Find out more at https://heathercaryn.com/
Mar26

This Crazy, Boring Life

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I keep waiting for something funny/ clever/ sweet to happen so I can share it here, but so far, I got nothing. Our days are a blur of work, school, swim lessons and karate- with the occasional snow day and sick day thrown in. We’re in the thick of signing up for summer camps and finalizing vacation plans- which is both wonderful and surreal considering the snow is still falling outside.

> I have been reading a lot lately. All good books, although nothing has been spectacular. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that complete captivated me and I’m also on the hunt. Any recommendations?

> Beaner is dressing herself daily now- and dictating how her hair is done. Half the time she looks like a hot mess and I love it. Good lord, I hope she never, ever loses her individuality and doesn’t become a sheep, trying to blend into the crowd. There is something absolutely delightful about seeing what she pulls together even if 75% of what she puts on doesn’t make it out out front door (a mismatched bathing suit, boots and gloves are not appropriate for school, sadly).

> I started playing Candy Crush. I have such a love / hate relationship with it.  Mostly hate.

> I’ve been working out 6 days a week and joined Weight Watchers about 7 weeks ago and I’ve lost 12 lbs. Best feeling ever was having to go shopping for smaller jeans. The only downside is that 5x a week I’m getting up at 5 am to work out. I’m freaking exhausted, y’all.

> I tried a new recipe last night for dinner and it was a huge a success! You can find the recipe here- we paired it with fried rice and it was delish. So delish in fact, that I think I deserve a metal for not killing the Hubs when I woke up this morning to find he forgot to put all the leftovers back in the fridge last night and I had to throw everything out. Grrr…

> Scorch has stated reading before bed- I give him 5-10 minutes before lights out. Every single night he fights me when it’s time to go to bed and I love it. I can’t tell him that, of course, but I’m doing everything I can to encourage him. Please, please, please let him always love reading.

Here’s hoping my kids do something awesome tomorrow so I have a coherent post up soon!

 

Mar19

It’s Magic!

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For the past few weeks, the Bean has fallen asleep on her floor on an old nap mat from preschool. I can’t imagine it’s all that comfy, but what the heck do I know. It makes her happy and she falls asleep quickly so we’re just rolling with it for now.  When either the Hubs or I go to bed a few hours later, we move her into her bed, turn on her night lights and close her door.

Evidently all this has blown her mind.

Mom- there’s something weird going on.

What?

Every night I fall asleep on my floor with the lights off and my door open. But when I wake up, I’m in my bed, the light is on and my door is closed! I don’t know how that happens!!

Now, the first time she said that to me, I thought she was being sarcastic and joking with me, which is why I answered like I did.

Did you think maybe it was me or Daddy that moved you?

No (the “duh” was very clearly implied in her best impression of a 14 year old), you two are already in bed when this happens.

Hmmm…so what do you think is going on, Bean?

Magic.

 

Dear lord, don’t let 4 year olds (even those who think her parents are dumb as dirt) ever change!

Mar18

Holy Smokes

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On Sunday we took the kids to mass as we always* do. As Catholics, this past week was really exciting with the election of the new Pope.  As Catholics with kids in a parochial school it was even more exciting because the kids were really into learning about the different Cardinals and trying to guess who would be the next leader of the church. According to Scorch, each class bet on who the winner would be (Scorch’s money was on Cardinal from Africa).  Scorch’s excitement carried over to mass this weekend as he vowed to pay closer attention to what was going on.

I was all for that until the questions started:

1) Mom, what’s a prostitute?

2) Why did Jesus go to hell for 3 days? Who usually goes to hell?

3) Why isn’t Father married? Can’t priests get married?

Really, kid? Really? You start paying attention for the first time in 6 years and these are the questions you start with?  I think we’ll stick with the nursery until I’m old enough to answer his questions!

*90% of the time.

Mar11

Enjoy It While It Lasts

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Ever since Scorch was 4, we’ve been saying that we’re going to take him skiing. But we never have. Want to know why? It’s because I hate being out in the cold. Every time the kids ask to go sledding (in our backyard, no less), I cringe because I don’t want to stand out in the cold.  I may be living in the wrong area of the country.

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But sometimes the weather gods smile on us and this weekend was one of those times. March is a fickle, fickle month in NY- you’ll get days of snow mixed with with tantalizing glimpses of the spring to come. It’s both wonderful and maddening.  Saturday it was in the high 40s with full on bright sunshine and you would have thought we were back in FL with the way we reacted. At one point I brought out a lawn chair and sat in it with my jeans and my winter jacket on just to soak up some of the sunshine.

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The best part of the day, hands down, was the sledding. The snow left over was not only thick enough, but it was also slick enough for the kids to go nuts down the hill. Normally when we go sledding we last about 45 minutes before we start to freeze, but this time around we were out for over 2 hours without any of the normal warm clothing needed- no snow pants or hats or scarves or long johns. Just our regular clothes, jackets and some gloves for the Bean. It was pure perfection!

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Old Man Winter can leave any time now, but if he is going to stay, I hope he stays just like this!

Mar6

Holy Hoarder

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Scorch is wearing a pair of sock today that, unbeknownst to me, has a hole in the toe.  Throughout the course of the evening, he’s picked at that little hole and made it into one big hole that three of his toes can stick out of.  It’s not a big deal- the socks are cheap 10 pack from Target and frankly, I don’t know how to darn / sew- so I told him to throw them in the garbage before bed. You would have thought I told him to go out and shoot the dog.

“No, Mom. These are special socks. I’m going to keep them in their own box and only bring them out on special occasions. Like Sundays.”

Oh…well, I had no idea. So glad he shared the specialness of his holy socks with me. Hope he’s not too disappointed when they share that specialness at the local dump soon!

 

Mar4

Dribs & Drabs

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Oh man, the week back from vacation was just brutal! The laundry, the exhaustion and the unpacking alone was enough to do me in, but you add in a 4 year old who cried every morning that she didn’t want to go to school and the start of daily 5:30 am workouts and by Friday night was D.O.N.E. Like “laying on the couch ready to cry because I’m so tired at 9 pm” done.

There were a few bright spots this past week though, like-

> How Scorch wanted to do nothing on Saturday but read his book- to the point where he brought a flash light with him Saturday night so he could read in the dark on the way home in the car (a boy after my own heart!)

> The Bean trying to convince me that her teachers told her that she and Scorch were not allowed back in school anymore. When I asked her why not, she told me they were too awesome to go to school. (thank goodness being awesome is not punishable).

> Having kids old enough to not only go out and play in the snow, but able to dress themselves appropriately without any help. What do they need me for anymore?!

> Seeing favorite family members and old friends on one of my favorite days of the year (that would be Parade Day in my hometown- the day we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day). The celebration is much,  much different with kids, but still a great day regardless. Added bonus? Watching my kids be amazed at the bagpipes!

> Editing pictures from our trip to FL and finding some gems that make me happy every time I look at them

This week hasn’t started out so great either since Scorch got sick at 5 am this morning, but that means it can only go up from here, right?!

Feb26

The Mouth That Never Shut

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Oh my, oh my- my 6 year old is killing me lately. Scorch has always been a talker, but lately the wit / back talk is at an all time high. The worst part is, it’s equal parts infuriating and funny.

For example, Scorch gets in a lot of trouble for using potty words (literal potty words- pee, poop, fart, etc). It’s a huge pet peeve of mine and something we must address at least a dozen times a day. Finally out of frustration earlier this week, after Scorch had already lost some major privileges, I finally just said “I have no idea how to get through to you any more, Buddy.”

Without missing a beat, Scorch deadpans “Talk slower next time.”

I didn’t know whether to slap his smart little mouth or laugh until I cried.

On the drive home from FL this weekend Scorch was using potty words (again). After being reminded numerous time to knock it off, the Hubs finally said to him, “Stop with the language now or I’ll give you something to cry about”***  Again, without taking a breath, Scorch came back with “a rotten apple with a worm in it?”

Wha? How? Seriously, how do you deal with that? So now on top of teaching him to watch his language, we’re also working very hard on teaching him when to use his humor to defuse a situation and when to stay quiet. It may be a losing battle.

***Here’s hoping that all of you know that wasn’t a threat of violence- it was a threat to take away the iPad- a horrible fate on a 20+ hour road trip. We’ve never, ever hit our kids- even when they deserved it. 😉

Feb24

Where in the World…

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Sorry for the radio silence, but the Heat’s took a trip. We saw this guy:

Taken by Scorch

Taken by Scorch- the expression cracks me right up!

Then we stumbled upon this other animal:

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Scorch fought this scary guy:

He totally kicked his butt, too.

He totally kicked Darth Maul’s butt, too.

We visited with a mouse or two:

M&M_Parade

And we even chased a few of these around the beach:

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Ah, Florida, how I do love visiting you!  We hopped in the car a week ago Thursday and started the 1100+ mile trip down the coast to some warmer weather and relaxation. The weather wasn’t quite as hot as we would have liked it, but we managed just fine! It was just to nice to see the sun every single day- you don’t realize how much you miss it until you see it again.  We spent 3 days at Disney- a half day at Hollywood Studios, a half day at Animal Kingdom, a day at the Magic Kingdom and a day at Epcot. Then we got back in the car and drove to the west coast for some beach time with my parents.  That made my soul very, very happy!  Honestly, I could skip Disney all together and spend a week at the beach- but the kids and the Hubs love the parks so much that that wasn’t going to happen.

FLBeach2013

Going to Disney World with a 4 year old vs a 3 year was much, much, much easier. Beaner could fit on a lot more of the rides now that she’s finally over 40 inches tall, but most importantly, she’s lost most of her fear. Rides that scared her silly last year were a joke and she asked to go on the Star Wars ride 3 times.  Scorch is at the sweet spot of an age where he still loves all the main Disney characters- Mickey, Minnie, Donald, etc- but he’s ready to try some of the scarier things too like the roller coasters. All in all, we could not have asked for a better couple of days!

And now it’s back to reality. I’m scared to check my inbox at work tomorrow and I dread having to get the kids ready for school- but all that is more than worth it for the trip we had!

Feb11

The Girl

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Yesterday was a good day. We went to church and no one had a meltdown. We came home, ate lunch and the boys went to a baseball clinic while the Bean and I went and got our toes done at a local spa.

She asked if we could live at the spa.

You can’t see it here, but her fingers are purple and pink and her toes are red and green (because green is Scorch’s favorite color, natch).

That night, I made the family a turkey dinner and then I went out with my girlfriend for 3 wonderful hours of laughter, drinks and bar food. I got home around 11 to find the Bean laying in bed, wide awake. That’s never a good sign- and also why I wasn’t even slightly surprised to be woken up by a sick kid at 3:40 this morning. Poor bug got some sort of stomach bug, so she spent all day laying next to me looking as pitiful as possible while still managing to marvel over how her nail polish was still there.

In sickness and health, it’s nice to know that there is a girly-girl buried under the layers of tomboy!

 

 

 

 

Feb6

The Same, But Different

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Before Bean was born, I had a 3D ultrasound. I still remember being struck at how much the child in my belly looked like her big brother.  And when she was born, I was flat out amazed at how much the kids looked alike as babies. When I compare their newborn pictures, I have a very hard time figuring out which kid is which without any context.

Kiddos

Both kids- hours old. Any guess who’s who?

~*~*~

Beaner is currently asleep in bed wearing a mismatched bathing suit as PJs. Her bottoms are on completely wrong and her top is at least a size too small for her. Do I care? Not at all.  She’s happy and went to bed without a peep, so I’m happy.

Scorch couldn’t figure out what he thought of the Bean’s sleepwear choices. Part of him thought it was hysterical while the other was slightly perturbed that the natural order of things had been upset. When I asked him if he wanted to wear something wacky to bed, he politely declined, telling me God made PJs for a reason and that was that.

And that right there sums up both my children perfectly!