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!

 

Feb4

6, You’re Crazy

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So, Scorch has been 6 for roughly 3/4th of the year- and of 90% of that time, I’ve loved 6.  6 still wants to hold your hand and is funny as all get out. 6 is sweet and helpful and so eager to learn everything. 6 begs for chore charts so he can earn money to buy things. 6 doesn’t really throw fits anymore and is willing to go with the flow. 6 loves to tell a good joke and is more then obsessed with Star Wars.  6 frequently gets side tracked by books and legos and other shiny things when all you want him to do is get dressed, for crying out loud. But 6 is so funny about being redirected, you really don’t mind.

What 6 stinks at is taking responsibility for himself.

Take for instance, this afternoon. Scorch climbed up on the kitchen while I was doing laundry. When I came back upstairs I made him get down- and, in doing so, he pulled some papers off the counter. Not a big deal at all- but I told him to pick them up.  He told me the papers falling wasn’t his fault, it was my fault because I made him get down.

All right then.

Or how about the time he slipped and fell on a puzzle piece that he and the Bean were working on.  He slipped after I told him twice to watch out and pick that up before he got hurt. The fall- my fault because I didn’t yell at him and make him pick it up.

Perhaps that little personality trait comes at 7.

Please tell me it comes at age 7.

 

Jan29

Whirlwind

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The past 6 days have been a whirlwind- I have:

> Flown to VA and back again all within 48 hours. Was super psyched to be in warmer weather- and was very disappointed by Mother Nature:

Snow fall in VA

> Cursed VA driver, DOT and generally the whole state’s population for inability to deal with an inch of snow. This Yankee was not impressed.

> Sat in hours of highly productive meetings (no- really!) inside of the bowel of a huge building. Didn’t see natural lights for 9 hours straight on Thursday.
> Hosted my beloved mother-in-law for the weekend so we could attend a wedding. Having her here was wonderful, but I did a lot of scrambling between when I got home Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to make everything ready.  The scrambling was well worth it though so the Hubs and I could…

> …attended the aforementioned wedding. We took the kiddos to the ceremony (a traditional Catholic mass) so they could see a wedding first hand before they are in their first wedding next fall.  Neither kid was terribly impressed with anything outside the fashion because, as Bean said, it’s like every day boring church except with kissing (ewwww!). Left my kids with my mother-in-law and….

> ….had an amazing time at the reception- such an amazing time my calves still hurt 3 days later.  We danced, we ate, we drank and we used the photo booth. We did all those things a lot. Like, more then this 34 year old has done in a long time. Too. Much. Fun.

 

> Got to sleep it off until 9 am and then get up and be a functioning parent Sunday morning!  I actually felt much better then I had any right too- which was good, because the Hub woke up with a horrible sinus infection!  Had the pleasure of spending 2 hours a local bowling alley that afternoon for a 6 year old’s birthday party. Thank goodness 4,  5 and 6 year olds can’t hit the pins too hard, so the noise level was tolerable.

> Went to bed very early on Sunday only to be woken up at 2 am with Scorch telling me his throat hurt.  Was up and at the walk-in at 7 am Monday morning to find out he has strep. *sigh* Poor kid. Thankfully I had already planned on taking the day off (the kid’s didn’t have school), so the kids and I had one of the laziest days ever at home. It was a much needed end to a very, very long 6 days.

And that, ladies and gents, is why I’ll be in bed by 9 pm every night this week. I’m not made for all this excitement!

Jan22

Busy Life & a Joke

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Well hello blog. It’s been what, 6 days since I last posted? Wish I could tell you I was doing something awesome, but really- not so much. I mean, sure, we did spend one day at an indoor water park and that was great! And we built some shelves for storing more things (read: legos) around the house.  I made an awesome turkey in the crockpot and helped my parents clean out their freezer (before they moved south for the winter) by letting them feed my whole family one night. Got a hair cut. Took Scorch to his first allergy shot appointment.  Tried valiantly to fight off a cold before having to go out of town tomorrow for work (and lost).   Complained loudly, and with pictures, about the arctic temps in NY.

Gorgeous day. Too bad it’s only 8 degrees out!

So, basically just a normal week in the Heat household.  Who the heck wants to hear about that?   So to spare you the boredom, I’ll just share a joke that Scorch told me last night:

Obi-Wan and Luke went out to eat at a local Chinese restaurant.  While Obi-Wan was a master at using the chop sticks, Luke kept dropping his food and making a mess. Finally, exasperated with his padawan’s mess, Obi-Wan said “Use the fork, Luke.”

Seriously, I love 6 year olds!

Jan16

15 Years

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I’m terrible with dates. Birthday, anniversaries, appointments- I’m awful at remembering them. It usually takes me a good couple of seconds to remember my kids birth dates for goodness sake! But for some reason Jan 16th, the date of  my first date with the Hubs, stays stuck in my head.  It’s not like we celebrate this anniversary- I make a remark about it, the Hubs rolls his eyes, we kiss and the kid’s groan. No presents or cards- just a passing comment and we’re done.

I think this one is boggling my mind the most because I was 19 when we met- which means we’re fast approaching the point where I’ll have known the Hubs as long as I didn’t know him. And frankly, that astounds me.  And makes me feel old. And lucky. I knew I liked the Hubs on that first date, but I could have never have imagined the crazy, awesome life we would build together!

Jan14

A Well Laid Trap

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Scorch came home from school today just full of it today. No idea what was up with that kid, but he was a wild man. I had already spoken to him twice about the potty words he was using when I heard him in the other room start chanting “Boobies, boobies, boooooobies!” over and over.

Huh- that was a new one.

Now, I get that I’m raising a boy. At 6, he’s not a baby any more and he’s learning new words and concepts all the time. I can’t stop the march of time, but I can darn well do my damnedest to raise a gentleman. A gentleman who uses correct verbiage for body parts.  So, with a full head of steam, I walked purposely out to the living room, intent on having a conversation with my son about slang words, body parts and showing some respect. It wasn’t going to be fun, it wasn’t going to be pretty- but I was ready.

“Scorch- that word you were saying? We need to have a talk about it.”

“Boobie?”

“Yup- that’s the one.”

“Why? Are we going to build one?”

“Build one what, bud?” <I’m way confused now>

“A booby trap. Like on Indiana Jones- are we going to build one?”

“Ohhhhh….nope. Never mind- forget I said anything.”

And that is how I ended up spending a good part of my evening planning with Scorch how he could build a booby trap for his sister. Awesome.

 

 

Jan9

You Learn Quickly, Padawan

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There is nothing that Scorch loves right now more then Star Wars. Nothing.  It’s all he reads about, talks about and watches on TV- he’s obsessed.

And there is nothing Scorch hates more then people getting sick. Freaks him right out.

So when the kids were having a light saber duel earlier and Scorch was beating the Bean pretty badly, she made noises like she was going to puke. Scorch immediately stopped what he was doing and asked her if she was OK. That’s when she pretended to skewer him right through the heart- winning their match.

Scorch was ticked that she’s tricked him, but I was in awe. That little girl is going to rule the world one day.

Jan8

Some Days

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Some days I have the patience for this mommy thing. And some days I don’t.

Some days I’m fully in the moment and can enjoy the little side trips my kids take on the way to the car.  Some days I want to scream “Seriously!? Car- now!” only with more profanity.

Some days I find my kids rambling stories adorable and charming. Some days I want to tell them to Just Stop Talking for 10 minutes so I can finish my book.

Some days I beg for hugs and kisses and can’t get enough contact with my kids. Some days I just don’t want to be touched again. By anyone.

Some days I make fabulous meals and we eat dinner like a family and talk about the good and bad things that happened in our day. Some days I make breakfast for dinner and turn on Phineas and Ferb.

Some days I have a handle on our crazy schedules- activities 5 nights a week? No problem. Some days I feel like I’m going to lose my freaking mind.

Some days my house is completely picked up, my meals are made from scratch and the laundry is done.  Some days….oh forget it. There has never been a day like in my house- even before kids.

I love my life. I love my family. But today is just one of those days- you guess which kind!