Quite the afternoon

What a day! 

It is quite rare that Thomas & Abbigail BOTH (let me repeat, both) have Very Good reports from school on the same day.  In all truth, Thomas always gets a "thumbs-up" whereas Abby usually has less-than-favorable reports.  However, today I felt like celebrating (and screaming from the rooftops) because my kids both had glowing notes from their teachers, Ms. Deborah and Ms. Tisha! 

Thank you both for making this Mama's day!

When we got home, Daddy quickly got the fishing gear out and we headed down to the end of the block to do some fishing before dinner.  Even Abby grabbed a fishing rod and was game for some action.

Thanks to Mr. Joe (our neighbor at the end of way), who lets us walk down his gravel driveway (which opens up to a 5 acre gorgeous piece of property) and use his dock to fish or

just enjoy the scenerie whenever we want.

 Today, however, Abby was most interested in Mr. Joe's little doggies who wanted to sniff and play.  Meanwhile, Thomas did plenty of "fishing" with his rod & fish (which he called a Tuna & Marlin).

Oh the imagination!

 After dinner, we headed outside to enjoy some ice cream cones for dessert!

There is no denying that my two LOVE them some ice cream... regardless of flavor. 

I'm sure you can tell that tonight's strawberry swirl was pure delight!

Wordless Wednesday

Our little kicker

We got to see a picture of our little "kicker" this morning.

This is Marilyn Jane literally kicking up against the wall of her cozy little bubble.

At 32 weeks, she is weighing in at 4.1 lbs.

Still has lots of room to move & turn, but in the coming weeks, things will becoming increasingly cramped.

Thats OK... keep growing, keep kicking!

We will meet you soon enough baby girl.

Rookie season

A little boy's rookie soccer season

Although the season is almost over, it has become quite clear to us that Thomas enjoys certain aspects about playing soccer; and there are other things that he could care less about & therefore is not interested in at all.

Likes about soccer:

• putting on his soccer stuff (everything from shorts/shirt to shinguards & cleats)
• carrying his little soccer backpack that has his ball
• snacks after each game
• Coach Katie
• an empty field with two little goals on each end - perfect for a little boy to score endless goals on
• being able to say, "High Five for Number Five" as he high fives someone!
• Knowing that Tuesday nights are soccer nights... and that also means either Pizza or McDonalds for dinner afterwards
• having Mommy & Daddy watch and cheer his name when he plays in a game
• when either team scores a goal
• sitting on the bench (yeap... very frustrating for Mommy & Daddy)

Dislikes about soccer:

• how long a game is (somewhere between 45-60 min total)
• when someone "steals" the ball away while he is playing
• playing in a game for longer than 10 minutes at a time
• the little red-headed boy on his team who he says is "mean" (Mommy agrees)

We knew we wanted to start at some point introducing Thomas to sports.  We figured at a young age we would at least expose him to a few different ones, soccer being the first.  We can't say that we are surprised that there are moments when he is not interested in playing soccer - for goodness sake he is only 3 years old - but the hope is that he has fun, finds one (or several) of them interesting, realizes maybe that he is good at one (or several) of them, and ultimately wants to continue on. 

My selfish hope is that he inherited my love of soccer - although I'm sure Daddy hopes he inherited his talent of baseball and maybe lacrosse.  But all of that aside, we are sure Thomas will be athletic like his Mommy & Daddy... there is no denying that Thomas loves to run fast, play hard and WIN!

ABCs of Mommy

1. Age: 36
2. Bed size: King
3. Chore you hate: cleaning the fans and baseboards
4. Dogs: I love them... my first born (Booker), Daddy's first born (Roscoe) and our only now is Ziggy
5. Essential start to your day: Coffee
6. Favorite color: Blue
7. Gold or silver: Silver
8. Height: 5’4"
9. Instruments that you can play: Ha!  That is a joke... there is no musical bones in my body.
10. Job title: High School history teacher, Mommy, wife and M.Ed student
11. Kids: Thomas - 3 (turns 4 in June), Abbigail - 19 months, pregnant with Baby Heck (to be born in May)
12. Live: Florida, but soon to be Alaska
13. Mom’s name: Mary Jane
14. Nicknames: Mommy, MaMa, Sweetie, Babe, Mrs. Heck
15. Overnight hospital stays: 2 births, a 5-night stay with Abby, brain surgery, ACL reconstruction
16. Pet peeve:  insensitivity, dishonesty
17. Quote from a movie: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." (from Ferris Bueller's Day Off )
18. Righty or lefty: Righty
19. Sibling: 1 other... younger sister Jennifer
20. Time you wake up: weekdays @ 4:30am; weekends usually around 6:30am
21. Underwear: During pregnancy, cotton ones that don't hide up in the "cracks"; non-pregnancy, depends on my mood
22. Vegetables you dislike: Brussel Sprouts
23. What makes you run late: Waiting on other people or getting my kids ready in the morning
24. X-rays: knee, chest, tooth
25. Yummy food you make: Home made mac and cheese; enchiladas
26. Zoo favorite animal:  Hippo

Sweet moments

The sweetness is unbelievable sometimes:

Thomas: "Good night Grannie & Grandpop... I will dream of you."

Thomas: "Mommy, let's lay and talk about Daddy coming home tomorrow.  I miss him.  I can't wait to hug and kiss him."

Thomas: "Will you sit down right here Mommy... I need to kiss your belly so the baby knows I love her too."

Abbigail: Waking her early in the morning to go to school; as the room is still somewhat dark, she snuggles into your shoulder and chest & wants your warm arms wrapped all around her.  She clearly just wants some lov'in before she faces the day.

The Now & The New baby

We are a bit over 31 weeks now and the baby is doing well.  Had a very quick and uneventful appointment on Friday and the doctor confirmed that 1) we are right on track and 2) she is healthy & getting bigger by the week.

 

By now, she is weighing about 3.5 pounds and is about 16.5 inches long, taking up a lot of space in the uterus. I'm packing on the pounds by gaining about a pound a week (oh lordy!) and roughly half of that goes right to the baby (thank goodness!). In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 8 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Thomas & Abbigail actually came with me to the OB appointment because Daddy is out of town. This was a first for them. They were in awe as we visited the "baby doctor." We talked about that this was the same hospital they were each born at; that the doctor would help the baby to be born with his "doctor tools"; and that the baby is getting bigger & bigger inside of Mommy's tummy.  They each loved hearing the heartbeat too.  They were so good and I'm hoping this is just one more thing that will help make bringing another Heck Baby home that much easier with two munchkins who already want & need all of our attention.

As we move closer to May and the months have dwindled down to just weeks until Marilyn Jane is here, I'm starting to get the notion that very little is done in preparation for her arrival.  Of course, something quite similar happened with Abbigail - then again I had all summer at home to handle both the big & small items that needed to be done.  However, the end of the school year is going to roll right up until just days before she will be born.  That is a little scary.

On top of that, we are unsure of what our house situation will be at the beginning of the summer and certainly through the summer months until we leave for Alaska.  We just will be in limbo until either a renter or buyer is interested.  I'm wondering if the baby will even have a room of her own (because currently it is our office) or if she will just have to wait until we move in and unpack in Alaska?  Additionally, I have given very little thought to nursery decor - I guess I need to get crack'in!

As I start to think more and more about the Hecks becoming a family of five, I'm starting to worry about how Abbigail will handle the transition from youngest (and being the current baby) to middle child.  Of course, I had similar worries about Thomas going from only child to big brother - but he was a little older (26 months old) at the time Abby was born and his personality seems to have lent itself to easier transition.  Truth be told, I probably had a harder time with the transition than did Thomas.  But Abby is different.  She is younger (will only be 21 months old); she is fiery & has a strong personality & wants her way (all of the time).  I'm really hoping to tap into her desire to be the "helper" and praying that it will be what makes the transition for her a bit easier.

Last day of Spring Break

This last day of Spring Break just got better and better.  The only thing that would have made it great would have been to have Daddy home and not away on a TDY (although he will be home before we can blink twice).  After nap time, we took our snacks outside and enjoyed the beautiful 75+ degrees Florida spring day.  While my two munchkins took to our "ghetto style" pools, Mommy was busy washing off the dried-up, squished-on bugs that were still left over from our road trip south.  It didn't take much to have a great afternoon:

1. sunscreen
2. snacks
3. water hose
4. big & small buckets

A "Whatever" kind of morning

I definately don't plan for mornings like this one. How could I? I'm a routine-oriented, structured, Type-A, "let's get things done while having fun" kind of Mom. But I have to admit... this morning was really, R-E-A-L-L-Y nice. No agenda. No schedule. No place to be (unlike the last two mornings).

So, outside of staying in our 'jammies until 10:30am, the kids just had a blast playing and watching cartoons. On top of getting the needed and necessary chores done (changing linens, dishes, more laundry), we practically tore the whole house apart. I think we spent the better half of the morning in Thomas' room where we played dress up with pirate costumes...

... and did a clean out on the too-small clothes and pulled out the new (and bigger ones). Can you tell that my kids LOVE when the containers come out? Matter of fact, I had to go empty a 2nd one just so they could each have one to play in. So, while I sorted & detagged, Thomas & Abby stayed busy hiding, climbing, pretending and laughing.

Oh, and how could I forget? Since a good chunk of the clothes Thomas wears comes from his older cousin Jake as hand-me-downs (thanks Aunt Jenny), there are always some wonderful surprises in the containers. Abby found these and I think has unofficially claimed them as her own (and yes, they are on the wrong feet).

Definately a fun morning. We finally all got dressed. Ziggy finally got his AM walk. Everyone ate a good lunch. The house finally got straightened up. I'm sure this afternoon will be a bit more structured given that there are erronds to run and things to get ready in order for everyone to head back to school/work tomorrow now that Spring Break is over. But what a great way to end Spring Break week. Relaxed. Very Relaxed.

Disney Highlights by numbers

1 - roundtrip vacation to DisneyWorld

902 - miles traveled on this trip

2 - visits with very special people

2 - theme parks visited (Magic Kingdom & Epcot)

4 - nights stayed at Saratoga Springs Disney Resort (thanks to Grannie, a DW Vacation Club member)

23 - ice cream, candy, cookie and junk food snacks consumed at the parks

7 - movies watched in the car & resort room while on vacation

1 - double stroller that we put some serious miles on

5 - loads of FREE laundry done while on vacation (thanks to washer/dryer in the room)

1,583 - smiles and giggles by two little ones whenever they saw Mickey & friends

1 - alone night with Grannie & Grandpop to dinner and playing

We stopped to see Aunt Jen & Uncle Ash for a night on our way down to Orlando!

Much fun was had on the new trundle bed and wide open spaces.

 Up close and personal with a favorite friend

 Thinking she is big stuff

 Figuring out how things really work...

 The chase - Daddy or Thomas?

 Body Language says it all...

"Come sit with me Mommy!"

 Meeting a new girl friend at the duck lake

 Who doesn't like Mickey Mouse ice cream?

 Just can't keep up...

 Reunion with best friend (Katrina)

 Snacks & drinks pool side

 Trying to warm up in the sun...

or maybe Thomas just wants to snuggle with his baby sister?

 Again... who doesn't like some Mickey Mouse ice cream?

Fix'ins included!

 Grannie & Grandpop joined us for Epcot

"Hey, is that who I think it is?"

 

 If she could have snuck through the green bars, Abby would have been waddl'in around with these ducks... she loved them and wanted to continue to give them snacks until they were all gone.

 Rare family photo

 Up late past our bedtime so that we could catch the Illuminations over the Epcot lake.

 After several days of excitement & fun, all our little ones could do was catch up on their sleep...

Worth every minute there and every dollar spent.