Tuesday, June 22, 2010

First Storm of the Season...

... and who knows where it will head or if it will "make" into a threat, but the early models are saying somewhere in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Only time will tell. If it does become a tropical storm or a hurricane, the name will be Alex.
Lots of speculation about what might happen in the 2010 Hurricane Season (in the Gulf) because of the BP Oil Spill. Interesting reading about "Hurricanes & the Oil Spill"... click here.


Monday, June 21, 2010

My Traveling Troops

I have great traveling troops. Saturday we all drove over to Spanish Fort, AL to take a peek at a truck that Brian was interested in buying (which he ended up getting... see next blog). We didn't expect to be gone all day, but I have to tell you... the kids were great! Here they are staying entertained in the back of the car while we waste some time at the dealership. With the AC pumping to keep them cool in the HOT, HUMID heat, Mommy's car was a great place to hang out for a short bit.

After leaving the dealership, we headed over to the shopping at Spanish Fort (much better than what we have in FWB or even Pensacola). I had to stop for gas and this is what awaited us there. Man, we really must be in Alabama! The nice thing about this stop with the JUMBO cow is...
... there were FREE ice cream samples for anyone who wanted it. I had one little 3-year-old boy who jumped at the chance to have ice cream! Traveling Troops were happy (actually Abby was sleeping so it was only Thomas who got to enjoy it).
After doing some "Mommy" shopping, we headed over to the new Bass Pro store for Daddy where Thomas was in hog heaven because of all the animals and fish found inside. Apparently Abby is quite content as well... but I think it was because she got to see her Aunt Jen & Uncle Ash who met us there (they were in Mobile).
A mesmerized little boy. The funniest comment out of Thomas was, "Where are all the Mahi-Mahi and Tuna, Mommy?" I guess he just assumed that those fish could be kept in a large aquarium too. Too cute. Oh so innocent. Needless to say, on the drive home at 4:30pm that afternoon - both of my traveling troops were passed out cold. Tuckered little puppies.

OH what my husband sells (and buys)

Do you know anyone who can always find a good deal? Do you know someone who almost always sees a good investment or a quick turn around profit opportunity? I do. My husband.

A few weeks ago when I was in Colorado, Brian tells me that the owner of the small 17' Key West boat that he has been eyeing for several weeks called and will take his offer. G-R-E-A-T (and I mean that sarcastically). I go to CO for 9 days and in that time, Brian buys a small boat. Of course we discussed it at great length, but still... I come home and now the Hecks have two boats. I should make it very clear that this was for investment purposes. Brian knows a good deal when he sees one. God knows he researches EVERYTHING very thoroughly. So... the idea was to list it on Ebay and sell it. Which he did. In only 8 days. The bad part was Brian and I were both starting to get attached to the boat because of its convenient small size. Oh well... had to remind ourselves that it was for a short turnaround profit.

Here is a glimpse of the small boat as we headed out of town to Brewton, AL to meet the guy who bought it last Saturday. Oh we could have had fun (especially Thomas & Abby) on that little thing this summer.

Just days after selling the small boat, Brian SOLD his 2007 Chevy Silverado (see above picture) to a guy on Ebay over in Mobile. Brian saw an opportunity to not only make money but also to "upgrade" into the next type of truck he wanted (see below picture). Yeap, you heard me right. In a matter of 7 days... my husband sold a small fishing boat, his Chevy truck AND bought a 2009 Dodge Ram 2500. OMG - those of you who know me well, know that this just makes my head hurt. My brain doesn't work like this -sell, buy, sell, buy, sell, etc. Oh no... I try to stick with one thing for a long time. On top of that, I have ZERO risk taking sense and probably wouldn't know how to invest money into something to see a quick turnaround profit. Thank goodness Brian is completely opposite of me.

What will he sell next? Maybe I should check Ebay to make sure my house is not for sale...

Daily Dose of Humor

As I was getting dressed this morning, I noticed it was a little too quiet for my house. "Where were my two darlings hiding out?" is what flashed into my head. No sooner was I about to call out their names, out walks Thomas (with Abby crawling right behind him) in my shoes. Not any old pair of shoes... a pair of my high heel shoes. I had to pick myself up off of the floor after peeing my pants. Man - kids do the darnest.

I don't know why Brian was so worried about Nana wanting to buy him a kitchen set to play with - now he needs to be worried about him dressing up in my clothes and shoes! HA-HA! I'm just kidding, I know that it is just part of role play, pretend and creativity. I just don't think that Brian will find it quite as amuzing as me. :)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Dear Daddy...

Here we are on Sunday enjoying a Father's Day breakfast at IHOP with Grannie & Grandpop! 
... Happy Father's Day from the two smallest people who love you possibly the most (although Mommy claims she loves you almost as much as we do)! We love how you make us laugh and smile with your crazy (animal & wierd) noises, your zerberts on our bellies, your willingness to think WAY outside the box which Mommy rarely does, your patience & encouragement while we learn something new (like last year when it was fishing) and this weekend as it is teeball and Abby taking her first several steps (more blogs to come on that)!

We love you with all of our hearts.
~Thomas & Abbigail

PS - Happy Father's Day to Grandpop, Grandpa Mike and Grandpa Heck today also! We love you too!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Working mom's blessing

As a working mom (during the non-summer months), I am absolutely dependant on childcare for my kids. Millions of moms are/have been in my situation. I have got to be one of the luckiest moms who use a childcare center but are blessed to have my two children loved & cared for like they are with family. Thomas started going to "CCN" when he was 6.5 months old and Abby has stepped into the hands of the same caring staff where we started way back then. CCN is a small facility with an extremely LOW turnover rate of teachers and teacher's aides. Matter of fact, all the lead teacher's have been there for a minimum of 7 years, and it goes up from there to approximately 15 years. The teachers LOVE their job and LOVE the kids. Like I said, Thomas and now Abby, have felt the kind of love and nuturing from the CCN staff as I could only hope he would receive from the closest of family & friends caring for them.

I know all of the teacher's/assistants as well as the director quite well. They are so friendly and focused on giving as much individual attention, instruction and care to each child as they possibly can. It warms my heart to know that these teachers help shape who Thomas & Abby are every single day. "Thank you" doesn't even begin to say enough.

A few months back, my good friend Beth asked about where I bring Thomas & Abby for daycare. After explaining how close it was, how convenient it is for me (who ends up being the main point of contact because of all of the TDYs/deployments Brian is on) and how personal everyone is at CCN - she was intrigued. I gave her the phone number and told her to ask for Ms. J, the director. Later that week, Beth came up to my classroom and had the most amazed expression on her face. She proceeded to tell me that she had just returned from a brief visit to CCN and was so pleasantly surprised to see what she saw. She explained that after introducing herself and inquiring about a possible opening for her son, she was welcomed with warm smiles and greetings throughout the building. She told me she purposely did not call ahead before coming because she wanted to see what went on "as is". She was given a tour and along the way, saw Abby in the infant room where she noticed she was invovled in 1-in-1 art with the lead teacher. Beth told me she was awe struck they would do that in the infant room. I, of course, was not surprised, but so pleased that she saw a glimpse into what I see everyday.

Then later on in the tour, she walked through Thomas' classroom where she saw something quite similiar where there was small group work with the teacher right on the ground in the middle of the kids "working, enjoying and teaching". Beth told me that she thought that is how is ought to be and was so excited to see that but was still amazed that it was happening in a childcare center where she was hoping to bring her son in the very near future. Once again, I gleemed with pride. That is where my children go each day and learn and are loved by all of those teachers.

My two munchkins are home with me now for the summer, but it won't be long before our summer vacation is winding down and we are heading back to school. With that, Thomas & Abby will head back to the teachers who love them. As a working mom, it brings such relief, warm-hearted feelings and true appreciation for the teachers at CCN. A huge thank you for another wonderful year.

Busy Blonde-haired Bee

Here is our little pint-size, busy, blonde-haired bee who is always into anything. She is desparately trying to get around as fast as she possibly can to keep up with Thomas be it crawling, cruising furniture, pushing her little riders so that she can walk, etc. She is eating LOTS of different table foods, drinking from a sippy cup and babbling up a storm to include the word, "Da-Da."









Thursday, June 17, 2010

Insane goal; Insane hour

My summer goal is to up the running both distance & speed. Yes, I know - what an insane goal to have during the hottest (and most humid) part of the year in Florida. To break that down down to numbers for you -it means 95 degrees before lunchtime with a heat index of approximately 105 degrees. Ouch! HOT! Yucky; Muggy; Sticky, etc. I could go on all day describing the summer months down here. Sorry... I digress.

My plan to achieve this goal is to run 3-4 times per week (3x during the week and a longer run on the weekends). My bright idea (although Brian practically fell on the floor laughing at me as he tried to figure out if I was really serious) was to go on my runs before Brian leaves for work in the AM. What time is that you ask? Brian leaves the house at 5:30 AM. Huh. Michelle did the math. That really means: alarm goes off at 4:30, out the door in less than 10 minutes, 30-40 minute run, and back with about 10 minutes to spare so I can catch my breath, cool down and kiss him goodbye. NOW, to me... it sounds do-able. To Brian... he doesn't think I have the will power to get my cozy butt out of bed at that insane hour when I'm on summer vacation. WELL... we will just have to see about those doubts.

I will tell you that today's running plan was a complete fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants decision. Since my two munchkins are up quite early each morning (we were all up before 5:30AM today) and Thomas was ready to get dressed soon after, I figured I would go running with them in the running stroller. FYI - if you are going running with or without kids, you really do want to be done by 8 or 8:30 AM or it just is unbearable. So... we loaded things up and headed out the door. I had snacks, breakfast bars, water for me, drinks for them and we were set. I thought I would just do a 3 mile run (1/2 down and 1/2 back). But as we were getting all buckled in while we were in the garage, Thomas & I talked about running to Grannie & Poppie's house. I figured that was only 4.2 miles away - NO PROBLEM, right? I was playing a mental game with myself.

I'll keep this story short. I felt great the entire run and the kids did great. It was definately getting HOT the last 1/2 mile or so, but we prevailed. Thomas was just so excited we were heading over to their house, he didn't care that how sticky it was. BUT, it turns out that Poppie wasn't home when we got there. The one and only day that I have a spur of the moment idea to RUN to their house (and ultimately will need a ride back because of the heat & the kids) - he had gone fishing with a neighbor of his. Oh Heck! At least we had a key, so we went in enjoyed a little breakfast and a Disney movie and just relaxed for about 1.5 hours before my girlfriend Lisa drove us home. Note to self, Michelle... call before you run.

So... back to the running part of this story. I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult (especially pushing two munchkins in the running stroller), but I guess that goes to show you that my endurance & my level of fitness has improved more than I thought. I bet that mile-high CO running did me some good after all. Anyway - going to try and wake up to that early alarm tomorrow morning before the rest of the house is awake. Wish me luck.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The inevitable... so so sad.


(Photos by Drew Buchanan)


We all knew it would come. On April 20th... the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig exploded; many workers lost their lives; oil began to flood the Gulf of Mexico waters. This has turned into the largest, worst environmental diseaster the United States has ever been faced with.  It was inevitable that it would make it to the Pensacola/Navarre/Destin shores.  We prayed it wouldn't.  But this is just the beginning of the oil coming ashore, making its way into the bays, bayous, rivers, lakes, etc all along the Gulf Coast.  It is very sad.

World Cup 2010

I'm not dumb... I know that most Americans don't care to watch the best & most LOVED sport in the world (hense the name - WORLD Cup), but if you haven't taken a gander at the 8 Groups (which have 4 teams each)... 32 teams total... and how they are doing in the World Cup which is currently going on in South Africa - WELL... YOU SHOULD! It really is exciting!
Case in point. The very anticipated game today between Spain and Switzerland (where Spain was the heavy favorite to win the 2010 Cup) ended in a VICTORY for the underdog Swiss team 1-0. Talk about an upset. In terms of Team USA, they have one game under their belt (gaurenteed three) and they are tied with England for 2nd place. Slovenia (who? I know, really) is currently in 1st place in their group. Big game on Friday between USA & Slovenia. Time will tell how the USA boys will do...
Again, all the Americans who love their football, basketball, baseball and even hockey - should take a few and take in the GLOBAL love of this sport. Why is it that only America doesn't seem to have soccer (or rather... futbal) engrained in their culture like the rest of the world does?

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

SAHM

It is offically that time of year again where I am blessed to be a SAHM for about 2 months! For those of you who are a little slow... SAHM means "Stay-At-Home-Mom". I should be clear though... this summer is shorter than normal summer breaks. We are ending a "late" school year in mid-June, but our school district approved a different start date for school and we will be on the "early" school calendar which puts us back in school the first week of August.

What does this all really mean? Kids end up with about 7.5 weeks and I have about 6.5 weeks of summer as opposed to a break that is usually 3 weeks longer. Oh well. Nothing you can do. Sorry, I digress.

I really do enjoy the summer break when I can be home with the kids and be relaxed. It normally takes us about a week to get into a new routine, but after that - it's all gravy. I'm sure we will be busy with swimming (in both Grannie/Pop-pop's and Nana's pool), playing, learning and just enjoying the non-commute that we will have. We do have one big trip planned right now which is in less than 3 weeks. We will head to MD and VA to visit the Hecks & the Sullivans respectively for a week. Although Thomas has flown several times on an airplane, he remembers none of them. Needless to say, he is very excited about the upcoming trip on a BIG plane. Abby probably has no idea what she is in for but I know she will be good to go.

We are also trying to schedule a long weekend trip over to Carrabelle, FL (which is better known as part of the "Forgotten Coast" along the Gulf of Mexico. We are aiming for late July. We would also like to think that there will be lots of fishing trips out on the Gulf this summer, but inevitably and sadly, that is most likely not going to happen due to the BP Oil Spill.

I know my SAHM days are limited. With so many fun things to do with the kids, I hardly think there will be time for it all. From the Heck SAHM...

Bday Cake!


Video Clip - Happy Birthday Thomas!

Birthday Bash!

The weekend (especially Sunday) was filled with birthday festivities. I will keep the commentary to a minimum because I'm sure the pictures speak for themselves!

Thomas received the same "Happy Birthday" card from both of his Aunt Jens (Auntie Jen is Mommy's sister AND Aunt Jennie is Daddy's sister)... too funny!

Our "snaggle-tooth" little girl (with 4.5 teeth)
A new favorite present (a gift from the Maslowski clan) is the outdoor grill which happens to look a lot like Daddy's grill. Thomas & Izzy are cook'in up some burgers & dogs for lunch!
Birthday boy enjoying his CARS cake!
I didn't think Abby would really be enjoying any birthday cake - I just figured Thomas' first experience was on his 1st birthday so why wouldn't Abby's? Daddy had other plans... he dipped her teething-raspberry in the frosting and she LOVED it! Duh!


Abby is thoroughly enjoying all of the wrapping paper and cards laying around. Oh boy... wait until Christmas time... she will be in hog heaven!



Chris & Nikki cooling off
Jen & Tom being silly! Tom loves when the girls kiss him!
The grill master

Watermelon was a HUGE hit on this hot day - I'm pretty sure that this table alone consumed 1/2 the watermelon by themselves.

Mary & Jen
Thank you all for making Thomas' birthday very special - whether you were here to enjoy his celebration or far away sending birthday wishes and blessings... we thank you for everything!