Friday Night Leftovers (Boo Version)

Halloween is upon us which means that the holiday season is officially beginning this weekend. I'm just glad that this insane time of the year is starting. I only mean that because I feel like it is non-stop until early January from this point on. Oh well. We are in it, so we better enjoy it, right?

• Abby is getting over a cold/cough this week that she hasn't really been able to shake for about 1.5 weeks... I think she is on the mend though.
• Between after school meetings, parent conferences, a haircut appointment for Thomas, etc - sadly today was the day I decided to go and buy my Halloween candy. I went to Walmart (out of convenience). B-A-D. Idea. Everyone and their distant relatives were there. Surprisingly though they had a wide selection of candy and was able to scoop up my first and second choices.
• Reality is (every year) I wait until the day or two before Halloween to buy the candy - if not, I will proceed to eat, and eat, and eat the candy. Do you see my method to my maddess now?
• Thomas is super excited about trick-or-treating this year. He has explained to me the entire process of dressing up, carrying a bag/container, ringing doorbells or knocking on doors and saying, "TRICK or TREAT!" I just play along like it is all so new for me.
• Emotional week for me - a good friend of mine that I work with, her husband is getting ready to deploy out for 6 months. We are extremely close and being military wives has made us even closer. She was there for me during Brian's last deployment and was certainly one of my "rocks" to lean on... I can only hope that I can be that for her during these deployment months. When you sit and listen and share in the worries & fears of someone who is near and dear to your heart and what she is saying is so very real because you have lived it... it makes for an emotionally draining week. All worth it, but exhausting. Frankly it makes me think of the next time Brian will have to deploy out and leave his family behind once again - and I hate to think of that time approaching too soon.
• Fall temps are making their appearance again - which is absolutely refreshing again. The warm, humid temps are getting ridiculous and I'm hoping these cool nights/days are here to stay!

Boo! Boo! Boo! Happy Halloween everyone!

Sweetness in a small package

I know I'm partial. I know I'm her mother. But Abbigail really is sweetness in a small package. Yes, she gets daily "bad" reports from school. Yes, I see a lot of those same "bad" behaviors at home. But, she is a sweetie pie. Let it be said too that she is a Daddy's girl. Huh? Maybe that is the problem. OK... maybe not. The bottom line is her smile is just as contagious as Thomas'. I love it.

Last weekend we headed to the playground at the park and enjoyed some fresh air, feeding the ducks/geese and playing on all the juggle gyms. What a great time we had.
Not only ducks & geese... but lots and lots of turtles too!

The watchers

Whose on the other side?

Seeing things through a glass bubble?

Those who have come before her

The tickle monster

... can make a little boy almost pee his pants with laughter. And the giggles and infectious smile just make my day.

...

And its just as funny for him to chase me down and try to tickle me!

A Fireman's rescue

We are in the midst of getting ready for bed the other night.  I've already taken Thomas' clothes off and am struggling with Abby to get her undressed also.  As soon as I finish, I lean back and while laying on my back look up to see that Thomas has come back into Abby's room (completely naked) with a red fireman's hat on.  I start chuckling and ask Thomas,

M: What'cha doing bud?
T:  I'm here to rescue you!
M: Rescue me?
T: Yes, you need to be saved!
M: Why do I need to be saved by a fireman?
T: Mommy... you have fallen and need help getting up... I am here to rescue you!
M: (I'm hysterically laughing at this point with tears in my eyes) OK... please rescue me Mr. Fireman (who has no clothes on)!
T: OK! (and reaches down to help me sit up)
M: OH, thank you so much for saving me!
T: (reaches over and pretends like he is handing me something) Here you go!
M: What is this?
T: It is my card... it says you have been rescued and thank you for calling!
M: (I now am crying with laughter and practically peeing my pants.)

This kind of thing happens all the time where Thomas says and does the funniest things and it just cracks me up.  Oh the life of a fireman.  Wait... I really hope he doesn't want to be a naked fireman when he grows up... that is just too risky and controversial.  Besides, I"m hoping he will further his education and do something boring and normal like be a teacher or in the military. Oh says his mother.

Life is different

I can multi-task with the best of them.  I make lists.  I check things off the list.  I make more lists.  I have long term plans as well as short term plans.  All of it requires me being productive and getting things done.  That is just how I am. 

However, my life is very different - as is my productivity level - now that I am a Mommy.  It just doesn't get done the same way.  Nor does it get done at the same pace or in the same manner.  Dont' get me wrong...it does get done.  The difference is the list(s) stay unchecked for longer periods of time; the projects take longer to do; things are not done with 100% effort and focus... instead, it is done with whatever energy & zeal I have left in me after caring and loving on my two munchkins.  That is just how life is now.  It's my life and I love it... it is just a whole different ball game now.

AF Brats

Found an old picture of Thomas wearing his first "Air Force" shirt and this past weekend... Abby made use of it too.

Thomas (11 months, May 2008) and Abby (14 months, Oct 2010)

Thomas sporting his AF gear also.  Daddy clearly has a lot of influence around this house.

Up close and personal... yuck!

I noticed things were a little too quiet the other morning when we were all playing outside. I was setting things up for the pumpkin carving escapade, but my two little explorers were off exploring around.

Here is where I find them first.

Aside from this being totally cute, I'm wondering what on earth the two of them are so focused on? But instead of interrupting - I just let them be.

I come back to find them in yet another corner - nose to the ground, investigative stance ready and up close & personal to... ... a dead beetle.

Yeap, all the excitement was this poor fellow, as well as a squished grasshopper who didn't make it out of the way of the garage door and was now flat as a pancake.

And to think... this was Thomas' original inspiration for his Halloween costume.  Oh I am so lucky that he changed his mind to something more "normal" like Woody from Toy Story.

A new face at our house

Clean slate.

Empty canvas.

Work of art... waiting to happen.

My inspector

The "guts"
I was a little surprised that neither of the inspectors or the hound dog wanted to touch or, in Ziggy's case, lick the yuckies.
Side note question... As kids, was my family the only one who baked the pumpkin seeds and then ate them like they were going out of style? Man they were good.
Picking the perfect face

Duplicating the perfect face (aka: tracing the stencil)

Not too bad for a beginner.

I'm not talking about the kids... I'm the beginner. I'm embarrassed to say that as an adult I have never carved a pumpkin. Yes, I'm 36 years old too. I guess this is what having kids will do for the richness of your life.

Abby is not sure what to make of the new guy, or rather -

the new face at our house.

Boo Treats!

Again... not too high up on the creativity scale, but yummy none-the-less. I had one main helper (with a ittle lside kick taste tester) yesterday afternoon who assisted in making Halloween "Boo" treats. We enjoyed these for dessert...

... and packed up the rest to bring into to school with the kids.  Thomas brought the "big" cupcakes to share with his class and Abby brought the "baby" cupcakes to share with her friends.

Oh my! I hope not.

By that I mean, "I hope this really isn't me, despite the fact that almost everything in the picture represents a piece of me as a teacher." I just hope that I don't really look like that (ie: shoes, plaid long skirt, thick, black-rimmed glasses, and "disheveled hair"). Oh my...

The truth of the matter is I love my job. Actually, its not a job. It really is a passion and most certainly a profession. I love the impact that I have on kids - not just history - but rather being a mentor, being a positive influence, and making a difference in kids' lives who need it or want it. Don't get me wrong, there are many days that I do have second thoughts on whether I want to continue in education or even move forward with my future plans of getting into administration. But more often than not, on those "difficult" days, there is usually some well-timed, sincere and most appreciative student who shows up to talk about a problem or I get an email/letter from a past student who has taken the time to write to me and tell me how much they valued me as a mentor/teacher back when they were in my class or in school. Those are all the feel-good moments that bring me back to my reality and remind that I am a good teacher and love what I do...

... despite the never ending work load that has to come home with me; the low pay; the out-of-pocket expenses; the endless criticism from parents & some of their students; and the excessive paperwork despite the Dept of Eduction going paperless.

I really do love teaching.  I just hope I don't look like her.

Halloween Creativity?

So, I should let it be known that Mommy Heck will never, ever claim to be creative in the least. However, I will fully admit that we have fun in the Heck household with whatever we are doing.... including painting some of our Halloween pumpkins. Last weekends festive project involved Thomas & Abby each painting their chosen pumpkin. It was fun. It was even funnier to see how each one wanted to "design" theirs.

Here is the blank canvas

Abby took the "hands on" approach and wanted the paint on her pumpkin as well as on her. Notice the paint all over... with the exception of her hair. Although, I have no idea how it didn't wind up there too. She had a blast. The only thing I really had to continue to help her with was turning the pumpkin so she could get it painted on all sides and also a little assistance with getting the paint brush out of the paint cup. Not too bad for 14 months old. And of course, the most important thing is... her pumpkin is adorable.

Thomas displaying his work of art. Thomas was hilarious to watch. He is very systematic. He would test the color of paint first on the art paper and then find the "perfect" spot on the pumpkin to paint that color. He even decided to paint the stalk yellow. Again... a beautiful master piece by the oldest Heck.
A fully satisfied customer at the end of the project. Now I only hope that cutting Halloween faces and scooping out the inside "guts" goes OK this weekend with my two munchkins. Something tells me that it will be messy.

Friday Night Leftovers (playing hookie version)

What a week! It actually has flown by and for the life of me... I can't figure out how/why? Regardless, the weekend is upon us and that means no work (yeah right... I'm a teacher) and all play with my two munchkins! Onto the leftovers...

• My hubby and me enjoyed a special treat this week together - we both played hookie from school/work on Tuesday to enjoy some time together. I actually called it our "date day" and we had a really good time together bringing the kids to school, eating both breakfast & lunch out, running errands and relaxing at the house. The reason for the impromptu day off was yet another TDY trip that will keep him away for several weeks. So... we spent one last day hanging out... just the two of us.
• My baby girl actually has gotten two, count 'em 2, "good" daily reports this week at school. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!! Oh lordy am I hoping that she is just going through a phase and is soon to pull out of her "bad girl" stage. Update Friday night... make that 3 "good" reports... today was especially good! :)
• Thomas has been especially sensitive this last week (ie: tears, extra hugs, extra snuggling) and I'm wondering if little boys go through PMS?
• This is the last weeknd before Halloween so me & the kids are going to continue our pre-holiday preparations. Last Sunday we painted pumpkins (pictures will be uploaded soon) and this one will consist of carving the big pumpkins and baking & decorating Halloween cupcakes! Yeah!

Poor Baby Girl

It started with a bug bite Friday night. Then, Saturday morning Abby bumped her head while playing on Thomas' bed with him... right on the same spot. Poor little girl looks like she has some tumor sticking out of her head. Let me assure you... it is almost all gone today... only looks like the small bug bite that it started out as.