Party Time, and Vacation......

My son Donovan will turn 7 on 6/30/2010, and I am swamped with party plans. He wants a "Transformers" themed party, and that's just fine by me. Last year he insisted on a wrestling theme because he loves John Cena. However, getting decorations and a matching cake was almost impossible. I'm happy to have a theme that's easy this year, it's a lot less stressful. It's hard to believe he is going to be 7, it seems like just yesterday I was pregnant with him. Time is an amazing phenomenon. Like this class for example. I was always afraid to take English 101, and now within a few weeks I'm almost done. Of course there is still some work to do, but the hard part is over. Now I can breath a little easier, and that's always a good thing. With my summer classes coming to an end I'm now focusing on going to Seattle in August. My husband and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary on 8-5-2010. My mom is watching the kids while we go to Seattle from August 19-23, I'm excited, but also a bit apprehensive. I've never been away from my children for that long, but on the other hand its been 3 years since my last vacation. My mom assured me she will take good care of my kids, and that makes me feel much better. I feel bad though because the kids keep asking us why they cant go,and it's hard explaining to them that mommy and daddy need some alone time. I'm sure they will understand when they are older, and have kids of their own.

Running Late, a Prayer, and Fishing.....

This past weekend my family and I went up to Cascade to visit my husbands parents. What really amazes me is how much work it takes to get six people up, and ready to go on time. Naturally something goes wrong every single time, and we always leave the house at least an hour late. This trip was no exception. My husband couldn't find the car keys, I forgot to throw the laundry into the dryer the night before, Jordan was having one of his "I'm still the baby" moments, and needed some mama time (this means rocking him gently until he gets bored with it, not easy to do with a 50 pound 5 1/2 year old). It was just one thing after another. Nothing new there. I know your probably wondering - 'Why don't you get up earlier?' or, 'Have everything ready the night before?' It's easy to give this kind of advice when you have never experienced the craziness that comes with having a large family. It's rare, but when I do get "helpful" advice on how to get out of the house on time; my usual response is "I'd like to see you do better." That puts an end to that "helpful" advice I never care enough to listen to. Well, we finally made it out the door, and on the road Saturday at 12:30. We were supposed to leave at 11:00, but oh well, after the ordeal we went through to actually get going, I didn't care anymore how late we were. In fact, I was so frustrated that I didn't even care if we went up there at all! Oh I forgot to mention we had to stop and get gas too. Grrr another setback. These are the times when I internally repeat my favorite prayer:
"The Serenity Prayer"
"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference."
It's not the full prayer, but this shortened version instantly calms me, and restores my inner peace. Once we finally got up to Cascade, my mother in law watched Aliyah, and my husband and I took the boys fishing. Jordan caught the first(and biggest)fish of the day, so that just made his day. Me, Donovan, and Kane also caught some fish, but Jason wasn't having any luck on this particular trip. He didn't care though, he was just happy to spend some quality time with his family. Me too for that matter :)

Lights, SpongeBob, and Tears.....

Some days I just feel like a broken record. I'm always telling my kids "brush your teeth!" "Flush the toilet!" "Go to bed!" Over and over, until they finally do what I say. There is one phrase that I say more than any other.

"TURN OFF THE LIGHT!"

I say this phrase so often that I irritate myself. It's frustrating walking into the house in the middle of the afternoon, and the lights are on everywhere. There on in the bathroom when nobodies in there. The lights are on in the living room, but they don't need to be because it's so bright outside. My husband asked me the other day why I was freaking out about it, and I told him it was because I had just paid the power bill. I then said something I swore I never would, "we don't own the power company." Yes, it's happening, I'm turning into my mother. I wonder if my daughter will have this same epiphany someday? If she does, I hope she's proud to have me for her mother. I'm very proud of my mom, and if I'm half as good a mom as she is then my children will turn out great. A couple days ago my five year old son Jordan asked me "mom what is a divorce?" Before I could even answer, my oldest son Kane said "it's when married people break up." Jordan started to cry, and through his sobs he said "but I don't want mommy and daddy to be broken up." Again Kane piped up and said "you idiot, mom and dad aren't getting a divorce." At that point Kane started to walk away, but I told him to come back, and apologise for calling Jordan an idiot. After he apologised I asked Jordan why he thought mommy and daddy are getting a divorce. He said "Donnie said that if I didn't clean his room you and daddy are gonna get a divorce, but I don't want to clean his room, I'm sorry" and then he started crying again. I gave him a big hug and assured him mommy and daddy are not getting divorced. He smiled up at me and said "so I don't have to clean Donnie's room?" Of course I told him he didn't have to. When I finally found Donovan he was hiding under his bed, and he knew he was in big trouble. I asked him why he would trick his little brother into cleaning his room for him. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said "I just wanted to watch SpongeBob." When I finished grounding him I gave him a hug, and told him he could watch SpongeBob as soon as he finished cleaning his room. I went into my bedroom, and laughed so hard I cried. Who knew SpongeBob could cause so many tears? I love my family.

A Birthday, the Honor Roll, and Graduation....

"Time and Tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of thirty." - Robert Frost......

I turned 30 on May 22. I was on the verge of loosing it until I read this quote by Robert Frost, and then suddenly I felt good about being 30. For my Birthday my husband took me out to dinner and a movie. He knows I'm infatuated with Russell Crowe, so naturally he took me to see his latest movie "Robin Hood." It was great, Russell Crowe wore these form fitting leather pants, and WOW amazing! I'm going to buy the DVD just so I can see him in those leather pants any time I want to. Well, it's summertime again, and my kids are finally out of school. My oldest son Kane made the honor roll for the first time, and I felt like a great big dork when I cried at the awards ceremony. I don't know if it's because I'm a mom or because I'm female, but every time my kids do something special, it moves me to tears. I was never this emotional before I had kids. On that note, my youngest son Jordan graduated from preschool, and I cried at that ceremony too. I just know I'm going to be a blubbering idiot at their high school graduations, but at least I still have plenty of time to prepare for that. The other kids are doing great too, smooth sailing there. Donovan lost his other front tooth, and Aliyah is getting more of her baby teeth in. Everyone is happy and healthy, and ready to enjoy this summer. Now if only the weather would cooperate.

The Heinrichs 6, how it all began....

For me, the Heinrichs 6 started with my husband, Jason Heinrichs. He married me on
August 5, 2000, and I became the very proud Mrs.Vanessa C. Heinrichs. Amazingly our first son Kane arrived on August 5, 2001, yes he was born on our one year anniversary, so then we were the Heinrichs 3. But not for long, because his baby brother Donovan was born June 30, 2003. Next, Jordan Heinrichs was born on November 14, 2004. I thought having 3 healthy sons would be the end to my reproduction, but no, this isn't the Heinrichs 5 blog. On September 22, 2008 I achieved something I never thought possible, yes my daughter Aliyah Rose was born. Three boys, one girl, one awesome husband, and me makes up the Heinrichs 6. We also have 2 pit bulls named Sugar Bear and Smokey Blue Haze, but calling this the Heinrichs 8 just doesn't have the same ring to it. We are one big happy family with lots of daily adventures and challenges. I hope to share most of it, so stay tuned.....