HMA Header Heidi Chronicles » 2007 » December

Heidi Chronicles

Life (In London), Medicated

How I celebrated the arrival of 2008 - without Aaron.

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Bday/Anniv/Holiday, Elena, Food, Friends, Liam, Mommyhood, Travel — Heidi at 11:59 pm on Monday, December 31, 2007

We arrived in KC around 2.15, after frantic packing this morning. I headed to Greg and Jeanne’s to try to pack up a bit and forced the children to watch Blue’s Clues and Sesame Street while trapped in the pack and play.

We headed over to N&A’s late this afternoon and settled into the Master Suite, forcing the home owners into the guest bedroom. (It was Ang’s idea.) Then the children proceeded to dump out toys, sit on things not for sitting, and climb on the table. I was so tired I hardly even noticed.

Neal planned dinner, so he headed to the grocery store when he got home from work and Ang and I set about thawing the steaks he’d just taken out of the freezer and left on the counter as though they would be room temperature by the time he returned.

Silly boys.

He did manage to get dinner on the table - with Ang’s help - and it was fantastic. But really, so what if he needed help…it’s not about cooking anyway…it’s about getting the party started.

Then we were blessed with Greg’s presence.

And shortly thereafter, Aaron went to bed. At 10.30. (It was a little weird when midnight rolled around and Neal and A didn’t call each other. They honestly do it even when they’re in the same room.)

Anyway, the rest of us watched the least technically savvy newscaster on TV (OMG the headphones and mic!)


ask the stupidest questions to dumb people.

And then we listened to poor Dick Clark do the countdown and talk to Ryan Seacrest post Eve. I have a really hard time watching people who are going to, or might, get embarrassed, and this was excruciating.

Ang went to bed shortly after midnight, but I stayed up to get my day planned tomorrow…and to watch Univision’s New Year’s celebration with Neal. I found it to be MUCH more interesting that Times Square. Neal didn’t find it hard on the eyes either.

Mostly Packing

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Elena, Family, Food, Friends, Liam, Mommyhood, Travel — Heidi at 9:06 pm on Sunday, December 30, 2007

It was a lazy morning.

The kids went to Grandma Judy and Grandpa Ken’s house to play and Heath kept Ehtan home from church. Since A was gone, Mom, Heath, and I had a little time to chat when Ethan took his nap. Inevitably the conversation centers around our calendars and trying to plan the next trip, etc. The topics about life after death, what we want to be once our kids are grown up (or how it’s working out), and self discovery, are merely tangential.

But, it came to a close prematurely when we decided to have Gma B over for a lovely lasagna lunch. It was a spontaneous
decision and was just about the only way she’d see all of us over the holiday since Bri and left today. It was good to see her feeling well. A few months ago she had some crazy amount (like 1 C. or something) of bone spurs removed from her lower back. She could barely walk before the surgery, but she’s definitely up and around now.

She stayed for part of the afternoon and Heath and B packed up to leave. It was almost silent when they left. Four kids is a lot more than two. I’m sure no one would ever believe that my two and her two play quietly quite often…just not when they’re together.

A called a couple of times from the show and I got to here two bands I enjoy - The Bosstones, of course, and the Pietasters. I’ve seen both in concert before and I was a bit jealous as I listened to the snippets of songs amidst static and the yelling crowd.

The rest of the day was kind of busy. I tried to pack up some things to get ready to go tomorrow and I spent the evening trying to shove all of our gifts into three huge boxes, which Mom and Dad graciously offered to ship.

I’m worn out and if we weren’t seeing friends this week, I’d be ready to go home. Two weeks is a loong time. However, we ARE seeing our friends and I get to celebrate Christy’s birthday and eat Olivia’s big cheeks for 3.5 days.

And let’s not forget the playfully inappropriate banter with N & A. I really do miss them.

Triple X Dinner

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Elena, Family, Food, Friends, Liam, Mommyhood, Travel — Heidi at 10:39 pm on Saturday, December 29, 2007

The whole day was pretty much a long wait for this evening.

  • Spent a lazy morning and Gram KT came over to see the kiddos.
  • Made the kiddies nap.
  • Got fancied up, put on makeup, dropped ALL of the kids off at Grammy Debra and Grandpa Larry’s house, and WENT TO DINNER!!

    I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. I’m pretty sure it’s the first time we’ve all been out alone since Liam was born. Unfortunately, A had to miss it. He headed back to KC this afternoon so he can leave for Boston in the morning for the Bosstone’s show. Kevin was my date.

A White Christmas (Observed)

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Bday/Anniv/Holiday, Elena, Family, Food, Liam, Medicated, Mommyhood, Murphy & Macey, Travel — Heidi at 10:44 pm on Friday, December 28, 2007

Aside from E being up on and off all night, it was a fantastic day.

  • We opened gifts and got all kinds of cool stuff. Liam really got into it this year. Gram went off the beaten path of the list I suggested, but she’s offered to ship it so I don’t have to worry about getting it home. (I usually get a kick out of trying to pack everything in the most efficient manner. Is that nerdy?) And the kids are having SO much fun with it. I got a kitchen herb garden - complete with full-spectrum lighting. I can’t wait to try it. Really. It was the coolest surprise ever. And my parents always have a scavenger hunt planned for the end of the celebration. Last year the clues were really hard (I’m always impressed with what a great job they do coming up with them.), so they eased up on us. We got it figured out in no time flat.
  • It was gorgeous outside and the kids got to mess around on the back deck while we adults sat in the warmth and checked on them out the window.
    L was out there for at least 20 minutes longer than the other kids. He LOVED it.

    Macey got to play too.
  • Ok, so we only checked on them between games. We got Mom and Dad their own Nintendo DSs so this is how we spent the afternoon.









    A has determined that he will be purchasing a DS for himself when he gets back to KC. He already knew there were none to be found here…my Dad tried to get one for my mom the other night! A didn’t know/remember that that’s what we were doing for her, so he was all for it. Luckily there weren’t any.
  • We took it easy for dinner and picked up pizza. A and I went together. I needed to get out of the house, but I was grumpy. We ran to Wal-mart before we went to Pizza Hut, so we were running a few minutes late. L pulled into the PH parking lot and got ready to park. I realized he didn’t know that there was a drive-thru. I think he was a little freaked out. Dude…small town. (It’s not like the drive-thru is a big secret in town, but I do know a bit about the ins and outs of PH since I dated the owner’s stepson for almost a year. Bam! We’ll just ignore the fact that he didn’t speak to me at our 10-year class reunion. Ahem.) When we got back everyone ate and I took a three-hour nap. I feel better now!
  • I managed to change E’s bandages by myself this evening and she was a lot calmer. I think she must feel the tension between Aaron and me when we do it together. I’m going to have to be better about that.
  • Finished the scary gingerbread house. It’s a little over the top, but I like the dormer windows and the M&M roof.


    The moment I finished it, I took it apart.  I’m tired of it.

The Day Before Christmas: Round 2

Filed under: Aaron, BackBlogging, Bday/Anniv/Holiday, Elena, Family, Friends, Health, Liam, Mommyhood, Travel, Ugh — Heidi at 9:41 pm on Thursday, December 27, 2007

Aaron worked most of the day, but I got to play.

Tim made it over and played with the kids. He brought L some more “Mr. Men” books and E got some “Little Miss” books as well. (I love these. I remember checking them out of the school library over and over.)

Em helped me with my gingerbread house.

The kids decorated the xmas tree.

I think there was one ornament about two feet higher than the rest of these. (Someone stood on the chair to get it up there.) Otherwise, the top of the tree was bare.

Eventually they stopped decorating and all started playing horns.

It was in the middle of one of these concerts when L stopped abruptly and said, “Uncle B has no hair.” Then he went back to playing.

Eventually Aaron got a hold of the camera. Notice I’m actually doing something useful.

Additionally, my good friend/roommate from college, Nelly, was in town and I got to chat with her a bit while the children were insane. I get to see her about once a year and I wish it were more…she’s freakin’ hilarious. And she’s single. And cute. Anyone interested?

Since she’s single and cute, I decided to try to set her up with another single and cute person I know. It’s a long shot, but I got them in touch with one another, so we’ll see what happens!

Kevin came to dinner later on. I think he likes to visit when we’re home because it’s a good way to quell any inkling he may have about having children in the future. Anyone else want us to come visit?

Finally, we had our first look at E’s injuries. She was not pleased about the bandage changes and it took two of us to get it done, but we finally did it after about 20 minutes.

(For those of you with wound issues, I’m not putting pictures in the post, but if you’re interested, take a look here.)

Next Page »

 
Locations of visitors to this page