A Mommy’s Discoveries

As a mommy, you can just never really be sure what you might find when you leave a room and come back. As I was doing laundry a couple days ago, I took some folded clothes back to Josh and I’s room and came into the living room to find this…

…Austin…in his hamper.

Of course, being the dutiful mother that I am I left him right where he was and got the camera. That’s the right thing to do, of course. (I did at least take his spill-proof sippy cup away from him…since he was spilling it all over the floor)

Bust a Move

Austin will dance to just about anything. It doesn't even really have to be a song...just something that sounds like music to him. It's usually the same dance moves no matter what. And it was reminding me a lot of a couple of other guys' dance moves...
So we figured... why not play THE song... and see what happens? Well, here you go. Austin... at the Roxbury ;)

Austin...What is Love? from Kristy Heilman on Vimeo.

Bring on Spring!

Yesterday, the boys and I headed out for our first trip to the park of 2010. Zack had been begging me since first thing in the morning, and I certainly couldn’t resist since the weather was so gorgeous! So after lunch, we headed out and a park just down the road from us was completely EMPTY! (I wasn’t expecting that since all the kids here are on spring break right now) It was a nice surprise :)

Zack’s first order of business was to ride the chicken…

Austin absolutely LOVED the swings! He started laughing hysterically when I got him started – it was so sweet!

(*Note: Please try to ignore the graffiti on the swing…I mean, we do live on the Eastside. ;P)

This is Zack’s new favorite way to swing. I wish I’d had the video camera with me because the whole time he was doing this, he was singing the “action scene” music from Greatest American Hero. (and don’t tell me you don’t remember that show from the 80s! lol) It’s one of his current favorite shows. He told me, “Mommy, I’m Ralph!” and then proceeded to sing the song…

Zack was determined to be the big brother and help Austin go down the slide…but Austin wasn’t really interested in having any help. In fact, he was kind of annoyed to be slowed down.

And then he was determined he was going to climb back up the slide. (He wasn’t thrilled when I took him off)

Zack again being “Ralph” from Greatest American Hero…

Austin took a turn riding a bird… but it wasn’t quite adventurous enough for him.

So he took off for a walk (He’s getting so big, so fast!)

Zack got to ride his bike he got for his birthday from Uncle Jake outside for the first time. Thumbs up! (This pose of his reminds me a lot of an Uncle Jared pose)

And he’s off… I don’t know how I’m going to keep up with these guys!

Unexpected Side Effects

One of the new favorites in our house is this little puppy.

This (in case you don’t know) is Kipper…Kipper the dog. Mike Inkpen writes books about this little cutie, and there is also a cartoon. Well, the cartoon is the BIG favorite here. (thanks to Netflix Instant Play) It’s sweet, cute and funny. Austin’s favorite part is the theme song. (He starts dancing as SOON as it comes on) Zack loves the whole thing. :)
The kicker is…it’s a British made program…so, all the characters have a British accent. The unexpected side effect of watching this show has been Zack’s sudden affinity for speaking with a British accent. No, I’m not kidding. It also led to me having to explain what certain words meant…such as, “lift” being an elevator and “torch” meaning a flashlight. Just today Zack looked at Austin and said, “Austin, wasn’t that just brilliant?!” It’s been pretty entertaining. ;)
Of course, we had to capture for posterity (and future embarrassment) Zack speaking in a British accent.

Zack's British Accent from Kristy Heilman on Vimeo.
If you haven’t seen the show, we certainly recommend it. And if you HAVE seen it… pay attention to Arnold. He’s adorable (and he SO reminds me of Austin…Quiet, but always getting into mischief!) Zack likes to pretend he’s Kipper and Austin is Arnold… which then, of course, means I end up being “Pig.” Oi…

Daddy usually gets to be Tiger. ;)

So yes, you simply must see Kipper… It’s just brilliant. ;)

Weekend Get-Away

This past weekend, Josh and I were able to take a little “get-away” with just the two of us. It was originally our Valentine’s gift to each other, but then after everything that  happened we weren’t sure we were still going to be able to go. We were so blessed that Josh’s parents were still willing to watch the boys for us and things all worked out for us to go. It was a much needed respite!

You may think we were a little crazy…but we drove NORTH for our little get-away: Minneapolis. Hey, it’s within driving distance and when Josh found out I’d NEVER been to the Mall of America, he was ready to take me. (And I never refuse a trip to a mall!)

Before we even got to our hotel, though, we decided to stop at a restaurant we were dying to try. We’re big fans of Man Vs. Food, and on his trip to the Twin Cities, Adam Richman stopped in to a couple different places that make the “Juicy Lucy.” We chose to try this delicacy at The 5-8 Club and we were NOT disappointed! Sadly, we didn’t get any pictures on our fab new camera, but I did grab a couple on my iPhone.

My delicious bleu cheese Juicy Lucy…

…and Josh getting ready to take his first bite…

After our tasty early dinner, we headed off to our hotel (which was wonderful), and then after a lovely nap (Yes, a NAP!) we went over to IKEA! It was my first IKEA experience, and while it was incredibly overwhelming (think furniture store on steroids) it was fun. We walked through the ENTIRE place, but didn’t buy a single thing. I did grab a catalog before we left though… ;)

The next morning, it was off to the Mall of America!

We got a primo parking spot, thanks to showing up at 9:30am. Then, our first stop: LegoLand.

And I had to catch a quick pic of me with Jango Fett… for Zack, of course ;) 

After that, we wandered into the amusement park in the middle of the mall, Nickelodeon Universe.

It was fun just walking around there! I did seriously consider this ride…

…but then I wimped out after witnessing this…

Say what you will, I’m not a roller coaster person most the time… And drops straight down like that? Not for me. I almost had myself hyped up enough to do it, but then my hubby took pity on me and suggested the Pepsi Orange Streak instead. No death drops. ;) 

(We didn’t get a picture of it, so I ‘borrowed’ this one…)

I don’t know if you knew this, but there are more than 520 stores in the Mall of America. There are 4 levels and the walking distance around just one level is .57 miles (of course, that doesn’t count walking around inside the stores!).

So, like I said, we arrived at 9:30am… And we didn’t leave until 4:30pm! We managed to walked around EVERY level and see pretty much everything there is to see. We didn’t DO everything (that would be a little too pricey!) but we did plenty and really enjoyed ourselves. We rode a roller coaster, ate way too much, picked up a couple unique gifts for the boys and got to just “hang out” together all day.

That night, we decided to eat dinner somewhere NOT inside the mall… so we looked for another “local” joint to check out. Praise the Lord for web enabled phones and GPS! We found a place called Punch Neopolitan Pizza in Saint Paul that turned out to be INCREDIBLE! We both decided it was a the best calzone we’d EVER had. Not to mention an amazing caesar salad and tiramisu! Boy, do we ever wish there was one here in DSM! Needless to say, we HIGHLY recommend Punch’s if you’re in the Twin Cities! (They have more than one location!)

We headed home the next morning, and were so excited to see the boys. They had a great time with Grandma and Papa and we had a great get-away! Praise the Lord!

“Creative” Writing

Ok, so it’s been awhile since I’ve done much in the way of creative writing. It’s been a LONG while since I put any of it where it could be seen by anyone else. But here goes… again. Just a little thing that was swimming around in my head this week…poured out on paper (and now here).

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17)

---------------------------------------------------

My way? It’s the wrong way.

Always has been. Always will be.

So why am I always so bound and determined to do it my way?

I’ve never gotten it right. Not once.

You? Perfect. Every time.

But I still resist. Why?

If I could just slough off all this SELF

I’d be much better off.

Much more joyful. Much less stressed.

But I still try to take control – grab the wheel.

You could just tie my hands. But you won’t.

You give me the choice.

Sometimes I wish you wouldn’t.

But there it is again – Me thinking I know better. Even when I know I don’t.

How can You love this mess that is me?

I can’t understand it. I can’t.

So I give up. Again.

I know I’ve said it before – and this probably won’t be the last time – but Your will be done, NOT mine.

Thanks for giving me another chance. Always another chance.

I promise I’m trying to do better – be better.

More than that – I’m trying to JUST be Yours – and not get mired up in the rest of this. This stuff.

Thanks for understanding. For loving – Me.

The Me that gets in the way. The Me that messes things up.

Just take Me. Make Me – Yours.