Weekending

It was a pretty normal weekend around here. Once Payton recovered from his virus, he was back to his usual rambunctious self and was able to go back to school on Friday.
So, with only one child to watch - and being very sick of being in the house - Parker and I headed up to the mall for a little fun.
First, we rode the carrousel. (It was Parker's first time and he wasn't too sure about it, but when it ended he signed "more, more!" so I think he enjoyed it).

(Sorry, this is a terrible picture I tried to take myself):

Then we had a lunch date at Chick-fil-A:

It was a fun little outing.

Friday evening, the boys went to bed early and Brian and I ordered a pizza and caught up on our DVR. There is this awesome pizza shop by our house that makes the freshest pizza on multi-grain crust with organic toppings. It almost makes you feel like you're eating a "healthy pizza" (now there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one). It was a nice way to end a few days of frantic worrying and staying up all night caring for a sick child.

On Saturday morning, it was time for Payton's baseball game. Parker and I stayed home so he could nap, but we made it there just in time for Payton's last "at bat" and he got a great hit! We're so proud of how well he has played this season. I can hardly believe his last game is this weekend!
After his game, we stuck around the ball field and had lunch at the snack bar. It was actually quite good, I must say. Dad - you would approve of the fries! :)


After the game, we split up the kids and I took Payton to the library and Brian took Parker to the little sprayground area by our house. It was his first time there, and by the looks of it, he LOVED every second! 

* Sidenote* 

I really enjoy when we get to split up the kids and I have some good one-on-one time with Payton. It seems like most of my time with him these days is doing homework and putting him to bed. It's nice to have fun outings together once in a while just the two of us.

After all those adventures, Parker was ready for another nap, so I took advantage of some downtime and ran out for a pedicure. Just me, my Kindle, and the nice woman who gave me an incredible leg and foot rub for an hour. It was a little piece of heaven!

While I was gone, this is some of what the boys did...

"I see you big brother! Do you see me?"

 "What about now? Do you see me now?"

 "How about now? Does this make you notice me?"

(Sorry for the underwear shots, apparently everyone was relaxing that afternoon).

I'm sure they also played games, read books, and spent quality time together, but these pictures were just too funny not to share.

Saturday night, Payton best friend, Max, had a pool and sleepover party at his house. Payton could not have been more excited!

Max's mom sent me this picture of the boys in a tent that evening:

 Needless to say, but Sunday, we all needed a good nap. So we laid low after church and had a quiet day around the house. That evening, we went to our friend's house to celebrate their daughter's 1st communion. We had a wonderful time as usual!

Hope you had a great weekend as well!

Consignment Shops

Let me start off by saying that I am in a much happier place tonight.

Payton seemed to "come back to life" today after his fever broke last night and he was able to start eating and drinking again.

What a difference a day can make.

Okay... on to tonight's topic: Consignment Shops.

I love them.

Seriously. I do.

It seems like there are two sectors of people when it come to consignment stores. One group thinks, "Ewwww!!! Used stuff. Other people's garbage. Dirty."

The other group of people thinks,"Wow! I can get the same wagon here for a third of the price and it only has a few scratches on it!" 

I am a member of the second group.

I went to a local children's consignment shop this week (Baby Bottom's Consignment on Gunn Hwy. for those of you who live in Tampa). 

And I got:

•  A car-looking wagon that converts from push to pull with a quick handle change, plus has a removable floor board that changes to pedals when Parker is a bit older. (Plus it has a steering wheel, doors that open and side view adjustable mirrors...which he loves).

• A Little Tykes lawn mower that makes all sorts of loud popping sounds when you push it.

• A new toy grill! YEAH! I found one to replace the one that Parker broke a few months ago. And this one is the new-improved version that talks more and says funnier things (Example, it says: "Do we have enough gas for this grill? FART! Oops! Excuse me!").

• A brand new sippy cup & divided Elmo plate that was still in the packaging.

All for the grand total of...

Wait for it, wait for it...

$40!!!

Seriously, the wagon alone retails for almost $70 new. CRAZY deals!

Here are some pics of my great finds:

Parker checking under the hood of his new car wagon...

 Yum! Found some raisins!

(Notice the white scribbles on the handle? Parker did that with a piece of chalk about 10 minutes after we brought it home... seriously, what is the point of buying things new???)

 Here's the new grill:

And here is the mower:

And yes, I did clean them thoroughly when I got them home. 

Although I'm not sure why, as Parker has already made them much dirtier than they were when I purchased them. Gotta love boys! :)

Sick...

Have I mentioned before how much I hate it when my kids are sick? Seriously, it's the worst. I'm not one of those parents who can just throw a bucket next to their face and move on with my day hoping to only wash one set of sheets the next morning. 
No. I worry, worry, worry.
What good does this do me?
Nothing.
But I still worry. Incessantly. As if it's going to make them better somehow.
Poor Payton came down with some stomach virus in the middle of the night on Monday.
It's now Wednesday at 9:22 p.m. and this is what he looks like:

Still sick.
Still feverish. Still throwing up.
You know it's bad when the teacher sends out an email warning parents of a stomach virus that has taken down half the 1st grade. Oh those pesky little germs. They really did a number on the kids this time.
I wish there was something I could do to make him more comfortable. I wish I could take the illness myself and let him be carefree.
I worry about when he'll stop throwing up. I worry if he's drinking enough. I worry that he hasn't eaten anything in almost 2 days. I worry that he's had too much medication. Not enough medication. Not the right medication. Maybe he needs IV fluids. Maybe we should take him to the ER. Ugh... worrying stinks!!!
What's a mom to do with all this worry in her mind?
I'm going to the Lord in prayer. 
He's the only one who can ease my mind. 
I pray for a quick recovery. That my little boy returns to his funny, sarcastic self very soon. I pray that his body strengthens and is able to return to normal functions of eating and drinking. I pray that tomorrow he will "turn a corner" and start to feel human again.
I love you Payton.

P.S. Payton, when you read this...PLEASE start washing your hands before lunch time? These viruses are the pits.

Random Photos

Nothing too exciting to share today. Just a few pics that were on the camera.

The Easter bunny brought Payton a gold excavation kit in his Easter basket. He had a great time chiseling away until he found 4 pieces of "gold!"

 He worked for a really long time to find all of those precious rocks!

(Apparently Rohy likes digging for gold too)

 But he had a really good time doing it. :)

In other news... Parker has recently developed a love for books.

He likes books with faces of other babies, dogs, and Elmo. But I also often find him flipping through his "Little People" farm books. 

 

Also... he enjoys watching Baby Einstein in his special chair while eating popcorn.

I think he inherited this trait from his Paca (my Dad).

 

 One last random picture...

I cut Parker's hair today.

I was so tired of paying someone $15 to trim his bangs (they grow so fast!).

It required Payton sitting at the table in front of him to distract him. Letting him play with the spray bottle and a 2nd comb. But in the end, I think I did a decent job.

What do you think??

Weekending

Fairly low-key weekend here at the Heckman household.

The older boys were supposed to go camping on Friday, but it got cancelled due to rain. Payton spent the night at his friend's house instead (heard they stayed up until 10:45 and got up at 5:30????). Then we all went to his baseball game Saturday morning.

He had another great game. We were so proud of him cheering on his friends on the opposing team. He has really grasped the idea that the most important element of team sports is the "TEAM" part. He loves his teammates, and he supports his friends, even when they are on a different team.

(Payton pictured with his two BFF's, Quin & Max)

 After the game Saturday, we just hung out at the house. Payton has his buddy over after the game and then another neighborhood friend joined in on the fun.

They spent an hour making some sort of car track or something...

 Parker on the other hand, was more interested in playing with Daddy. I think he realizes that when he has Brian's attention, he needs to take advantage of it. 

He had no interest in playing with Payton or his buddies. He just wanted to play with his Daddy.

 Of course he had to start some kind of mischief...

 Remind me again when we grow out of the "everything-goes-in-the-mouth" stage?!?!

 Then he started playing peek-a-boo with me and was all irresistibly cute...

Sunday was a pretty typical day around here.

I got to sing at church this week, which is always such an honor and privilege. And once we arrived home, Parker was so pooped he took a 2-hour nap.

The latter-part of the day involved a trip to Starbucks on our bikes...

Enjoying a decaf and a chocolate chunk brownie with my big boy:

 And Parker and Payton shared their treats with each other. Parker actually scooted Payton aside in his chair so he could climb up and sit with him. It was SO precious!

 Then the boys played a rousing game of peek-a-boo while the grown-ups finished our coffees...

 A brief stop at the park on the way home capped off a busy Sunday. We headed home for baths and an early dinner and bedtime.

Now... the house is quiet and temporarily clean.

Time to go rest up for another busy Monday!

Have a great week everyone.

Boys & Dirt

I had a friend once say that she believes that God gave her all boys so that she would be forced to let go of some of her OCD when it comes to keeping things clean & tidy.

I'm beginning to think the same is true for me.

Payton doesn't like to get super dirty anymore - although riding his bike through muddy puddles is about his favorite activity on the planet - but he did when he was little.

Here's proof:

He ate dirt (several times)... 

 And he was a very messy eater...

 So, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the number of times each week that I have to strip Parker down (usually to complete nakedness) on the back porch because he's gotten into something outside.

Yesterday, he wanted to venture out in the rain.

I had to hold back every ounce of my "cleanliness OCD" and tell myself, "It's good for him to play in the rain. He's experiencing life! He's learning new things."

Of course he found the one puddle in the backyard that had formed at the bottom of the gutter downspout. Complete with some of the leftover cleaner that was used to pressure wash the porch last weekend...

 Let's just say that 20 minutes later he was buck naked walking into the house. I'll spare you the details of sliding down the wet slide and then sitting in the dirt.

Today, it was nice and dry outside so I let him out back for a few minutes before naptime.

He walked over to the swing... and immediately fell into the dirt.

 Then he proceeded to wipe his dirty hands all over his face...

 Which just made him more upset.

 Needless to say, he walked inside in his diaper, went right to the sink for a "wash down" and then straight to his crib. Getting that dirty really makes a baby tired!

Lastly, here's a quick video that hopefully makes you smile!

(If you get this blog post via email, you'll have to click on "The Heckman Family" title at the top of the post to go to the actual blog to view this video).

 Have a great weekend everyone!

Nothing Crazy

This week has been chock full of everyday, normal, routine things. Nothing crazy.

And I love it.

Lots of laundry, cleaning, cooking and playing. I've been able to be very "present" with the kids, which has been wonderful.

I've gone on several bike rides. Been to the park twice. Played marbles on the back porch. Took the kids to the pool today (more on that in another post), and just really enjoyed them.

Yesterday, we had a couple friends over for a playdate. The kids literally played for hours in the backyard. I'm still not exactly sure what they were playing, but it had something to do with telleporting (sp??) to another land and things attacking them and then having to save one another. It was a great display of imagination, and Parker was more than happy to "play along" or at least just be in their presence while they played. As I've mentioned before, he thinks he's just another 7-year old joining in the fun!

And I love running in the house unnoticed for a couple of minutes and then returning with a big bowl of popcorn and drinks for everyone. I receive a hero's welcome, let me tell ya!

See? Parker just thinks he's one of the gang!

Then he decided to play on the slide. Which started out all cute and innocent...

 

And then it turned into him trying to be a stuntman...

That's about the time he fell off the back of the slide and we decided to move the fun on to the back porch for some marbles.

This requires every ounce of my concentration to make sure that he doesn't go all crazy on me and try to sneak one into his mouth. But he really loves playing with this marble run toy, so it's worth some serious concentration on my part.

So, that's it... nothing crazy. 

I'm kinda diggin' the laid-back nature of the week so far. But something tells me frenzied days are just around the corner... I better go rest up. :)