A Shout-Out To Our Beloved Gators

Dear Florida Gators Football Organization,

We have been avid supporters of your team for well over 14 years now.

We've laughed, we've cried (both happy & sad tears), we've lost our voices screaming for you, we created a business surrounding one of the biggest icons in your entire organization - Mr. Two Bits...






 ...and lest we not forget that we even named our second child after one of your star players.

 

Every Saturday starting in September, we put out our huge orange & blue UF house flag, we inflate our 4-foot Albert the Alligator, and my husband & kids special order Gator donuts every week from Publix, just to show you their love.

Last year was a very "character-building" year. We probably needed it to knock us out of our "We're Gators and we beat you every year no matter what" mentality.

But now, we're ready to win again.

We would really, really appreciate a win on Saturday for the first game to help Gator Nation get back their momentum and spirit.

And of course, we'd love to also beat Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, FSU... oh heck, let's just win em all, eh? For old time's sake?

Your devoted fans,

Brian, Stacy, Payton & Parker "Timothy Tebow" Heckman

Random Ramblings

I'm sure all of you are aware that Florida dealt with Tropical Storm Issac this week. Our schools were closed on Monday. Trash pick-up was cancelled. Our library and all other government offices were shut down. And we barely got enough rain to make puddles on the sidewalks. Our pastor put it best on Sunday when he said, "Hurricane season to meteorologists is like Christmas season to kids. They're SO excited to announce a new storm it's like instead of 'Santa is coming!' it's 'There's a hurricane coming!!'" I couldn't agree more.

So since school was out, we decided to have hurricane playdates all afternoon. Well, after Parker's 18-month check-up, that is (thankfully the pediatrician didn't close up shop). He was such a trooper when he got his shot in the thigh. One little shriek, and he was over it. Nothing a lollipop from the receptionist couldn't fix.

Now, we're back to our normal routine. Payton brought home his first homework assignment today. We have Parker's playgroup tomorrow. And this weekend we'll do some fun stuff to celebrate both Labor Day weekend and our 11-year wedding anniversary!

I also have to add that starting this weekend, all of my summer decorations will be coming down and all of the fall stuff will be going up! (I'm sure Brian is so thrilled to read that, knowing that it means a big trip up into the attic). I'm SO ready for fall. I'm excited for it to get darker earlier, for the humidity to drop a little (yes, I know the temps won't go below 80, but at least a little lower humidity will help), and to be able to enjoy an occasional Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. Ahh...I can almost taste it! I just did a little internet searching and I'm happy to report, it will be in stores on September 4th!

Beyond that exciting news, I have some fun, random pictures to share from our wet weekend that was spent indoors most of the time.

We played a LOT of Play Dough:

 Made a LOT of forts:

And read a lot of books.

This one is Parker's current favorite. I don't really understand the appeal of this book, but Payton was equally obsessed with it when he was a baby, so there's definitely something to it!

 Isn't this sweet?!?

One last image to share. It's a sneak peek at my new fall subway art:

Let the "embers" begin!!!

1st Week of 2nd Grade

Why is it as a teenager you long for the days to speed up so that you can drive, attend rated R movies, stay out later, etc.? But then when you're a parent, you wish time would SLOW DOWN so that you could really enjoy your kids while they're still young.
I've had a lot of those moments the past few weeks. I feel like this summer just flew by. Maybe because we had so much fun. Maybe because the boys are at such a great age. Maybe because life has finally settled into a good routine and we just enjoy being around each other. Whatever the reason, Payton going back to school made all of us a little sad. But, once the week got into full swing, and we all found our new normal, it ended up being a great 1st week of school.

Payton's new teacher, Mrs. Freeman seems super nice! We know that she has a reputation for being "very academic" and she expects the kids to take responsibility for themselves. I think she's going to be a great fit for him.

A couple days before school started, he got a postcard in the mail from her, and then he got this little note and pencil at open house:

 We took our annual 1st day of school pics:

 We even managed to wrangle Parker into one of the pics!

Payton brought home this cute note along with a Starburst candy the first day:

 And I may or may not have baked fresh chocolate chip cookies and wrapped up some fun goodies for him during his 1st week back. :)

 

 And what were me & the little guy doing all week while big brother was at school???

Well, we soothed some crying on the first day with a lollipop:

Played with friends his own age:

Did a lot of Play Dough, books & this magnet kit (educational & fun!):

 And he swiped his brother's toothbrush every chance he got (this is his new obsession):

Overall, it was a great week. Mommy just has to get used to the idea that she has a 2nd grader!!!

Tell me...when did this happen?

We love you Payton and we hope this will be an awesome school year!

New Favorite Things

Ready for an all-new list of my recent "Favorite Things?" Wish I could be like Oprah and mail you samples of them because they're all great!

I'll start with a back-to-school item. My mom and I were shopping together last weekend while she was here and we popped into my favorite store in the mall, Francesca's Collection. This store alone could be listed as one of my Favorite Things. There are so many wonderful items in there, I just adore it! Anyhow, this book of "Instant Happy Notes" caught my eye and I'm so glad it did! They are over-sized post-it notes that have little sayings on them.

For example: "Why I'm happy now: YOU!"

And: "Awesomeness Grade: A+"

I've been sticking them in Payton's lunchbox each day along with a little note. He loves them and I love that it only takes a couple seconds to do. 

(There are also notes included that would be more appropriate for friends & spouses.)

My second item, is also sort of school-related because it has to do with runny noses. Parker picked up a little cold this week and since he can't blow his nose yet, he tends to get such a red, sore nose from me wiping it all day long. That's where these come in:

Yes, "Boogie Wipes." I know, they sound ridiculous, but they really work! They are almost like baby wipes, but they have a touch of saline in them and they're a bit smaller. (I'm sure my parents/in-laws/relatives are saying, "Really? We raised X amount of kids and we never had such things!" But if you were raising kids today, you would totally want a package of these babies for your babies. Trust me.


Next up, makeup! I love good makeup. The kind that doesn't necessarily cost a fortune, but that works really, really well. I also love the store Sephora. The only problem is, there are SO many products in that store, it's hard to decide which ones are worth buying. Fortunately, one of my favorite brands has helped me solve this issue.

Smashbox has come out with a "Try It Kit." It's little sample sizes of their most popular products.

  

For $20 I got a 5 products (that's less than what you'd pay for a drugstore brand) and let me tell you - these products are AWESOME! I'm totally obsessed with this lip gloss:

It's not sticky, or slimy and it doesn't goop up after an hour. It's the perfect sheer color to wear by itself if I'm heading to the grocery store or park. Or, it adds awesome shimmer on top of colored lipstick for a date night out. LOVE, love, love it! In fact, I'd give a "thumbs up" to all of the products in this kit. I really like the mascara as well.

And one more facial product to share. If you've ever used any Philosophy brand products, you know they are amazing. Well, I've been wanting to get into a better skincare routine seeing as I am pushing 40 and the wrinkles/sun spots, etc. are starting to show. I've tried a lot of other OTC wrinkle creams, but this baby takes the cake!

First off, it's easy - which means, you'll actually use it. If a skincare regime has 5 steps, you probably won't use it on a daily basis. This product reminds me of the old Noxema/Oxy 10 wipes that I used as a teenager. You simply take out a little pad and wipe it all over your face & neck and "Voila!" you're done. It makes your skin so much smoother and softer! I will warn you though, your skin will be much more susceptible to sunburn, so be sure to put on sunscreen (which you should be doing everyday any ways). It is a little pricy, but there are a ton of pads included and IT REALLY WORKS!

Okay, that's it for now. I have several more items to share, but I'm still in the "testing" period, so I want to make sure they are worthy of sharing before I post them. I hope some of these products become your new favorites too!

Winding Down the Summer

We've had such a fun time these last few weeks of summer, I've barely had time to document it all in the blog!

With just a few words and a LOT of photos, here's a brief (or not so brief) recap of our final days of summer:

We took Parker to Payton's favorite train stores for the first time.

He LOVED it by the way!

(Our first stop was Chick-fil-A - Parker LOVES the CFA cow. Actually he's a bit obsessed)

Then we hit the train store:

 

 Payton had MANY fun playdates including celebrating his friend Lilly's birthday:

 (Parker thoroughly enjoyed a cupcake too!)

 

And bowling with his friend Nate & his brother Eric:

Pool time (e.g. water balloon time) with our neighbors:

 

And going on a movie date with Mom to see "Diary of a Wimpy Kid":

There has also been lots of awesome family togetherness including...

A visit from Uncle Bryan:

 

A visit from Nana:

 

 I even managed to fit in a little bit of craft time:

 

And of course there's been lots of brotherly love...

And while Daddy had to travel the last week of the summer, the boys sure were happy to see him when he got home. They couldn't even wait for him to get in the house!

 They needed some Daddy time!

I'm going to try not to get all sappy about the summer coming to an end, although I have to say that this was one of the most fun summer's we've ever had. The boys really enjoyed each other's company and I loved watching their bond grow stronger day by day.

I feel like we've all grown a lot this summer. Payton has matured emotionally. Parker has grown leaps & bounds. Brian and I have really relished the time with the boys and we've made some big family decisions (e.g. 2 kids is perfect for us - NO MORE!).

Summer 2012 deserves a gold medal in my book.

Thank you God for allowing us to experience such growth this summer. We look forward to an amazing school year and a super fun fall...full of snuggly sweaters, pumpkins, sweet-scented candles, cinnamon brooms, tall non-fat pumpkin spice lattes & cooler weather (I HOPE!!!).

 Goodbye Summer - we will miss you!