HoneyBears & SydneyBeans: My Week with HoneyBear: A Guest Post written by Kari Hachey

Tonight we are in for a treat!

This is my very FIRST guest blog and I am super stoked that it was written by my Sis :)

Over Spring Break HBear and my Dad went to Cochrane to visit my Sis, BIL and SweetPea. It is hilarious to hear about how my daughter acts when I am not around BAHAHAHA

Thank you Sis... I appreciate the time you took in writing this awesome post, the time you put into making HBear's visit SUPER special and for being YOU! I love you :)

... and I can't WAIT for you to have #2!!!!!!

BAHAHAHAHA

No pressure :)

My sister and I are very different. She’s loud, I’m quiet. She’s direct, I avoid. She always loved writing and reading, I dove into sports and anything that took me away from academics. She is extremely intelligent and was the president of everything school related, I skimmed by school and avoided anything with “club” in the title.

As adults, we have become close and have one major thing in common. We are Moms. Very different Moms, but that’s to be expected :) She’s a stay at home Mom to her 2 beautiful girls and I’m a working Mom with an almost 2 year old.

I am used to dropping my daughter off every day at her dayhome, to be in the hands of someone else. My sister, is not. So, when I had the opportunity to have HBear and our Dad come stay with us for a week, I jumped at it!

I dove right into planning mode, something my sister taught me through all of her Martha Stewart antics. Well, that combined with the anxiety I get by “trying” to be organized usually works out interestingly well!

I planned our meals and activities for the week and threw it up on our kitchen chalkboard. Each day I had a kid centered activity to keep the girls from putting us all in an early grave.

So, they arrived and the fun filled week began!

Here are ten things I learned during my week with HBear:

1. I miss my family.

I have lived away from my family since 2007 and have enjoyed the distance and becoming my own person. No fighting, judgments, throwing items at my sisters’ face…you know. One thing I did not realize was that I NEVER thought my future children would grow up not really knowing their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. As kids, my sister and I would always talk about our children growing up together and fighting, making up, supporting each other, just like we did. Seeing what it’s like to have my Dad and niece around, especially for the little things like saying goodnight, really pulls my heart strings.

2. 6 year olds are high freakin maintenance.

Holy hell. I work with youth. Youth that have substantial issues and backgrounds that need my constant attention. After this week I can tell you that I have NEVER had my head spin so much. HBear’s constant questions, explanations and (poke poke) “Auntie Kari….AUNTIE KARI!” and always finding something for her to do to keep her occupied was an eye opener. I LOVE how inquisitive she is and curious about the world. She is such a smart girl and I am thankful I now know to invest in some great earplugs when SweetPea turns 6 :)

3. I can’t do it as good as Mom and Dad can.

This became apparent when HBear wanted oatmeal for breakfast. So, being working parents who need quick breakfasts, I presented her with 2 packages of oatmeal. Brown sugar or apple cinnamon. She stood there, and stood there, staring at these packages. She then began shaking her head without saying anything, and slowly backed up.

“Dad doesn’t make it like that. I don’t want any.”

I replied “I know HBear, but you’re at Auntie Kari’s house and this is the type of oatmeal we have.”

She then went on to explain that dad cooks it on the stovetop with salted water and with REAL brown sugar and milk on top, the way she likes it. I caved and grabbed the oats and put on a pot of salted water. I added a cup of oats and I hear,

“NO auntie Kari, Dad adds 3 cups of oats to the water”.

REALLY? I may or may not have snapped a little and said,

“well, since you’re the ONLY one eating oatmeal today HBear, I am only making one cup.”

It worked!

She was actually quiet for 37 seconds. And another 2 minutes while she happily ate her Dad’s oatmeal.

With milk and brown sugar. :)

4. Being sick at ANY point with children, is the devil.

I developed a wicked cold half way through our visit, my husband had a 24 hour flu and sweet pea had a fever and cough almost the whole time. Spending our time at almost every kid/germ infested hot spot in Calgary just sweetened the deal.

5. Apparently having only 1 child is like a vacation.

Freaky Friday happened. My sister and I traded lives for a week and it was more than exhausting on my end lol What made it worse was seeing her and Ninja all relaxed and gleaming with a glass of wine in their hands, every night on Facetime. I actually don’t recall ever seeing them so chill. Well, yes I do. It was before they had kids.

6. Having SweetPea always be an independent sleeper has finally backfired.

We have been EXTREMELY lucky in the sleeping department. SweetPea has slept on her own and through the nights since she was 2 weeks old. She has never co-slept with us and the thought of her snuggling in bed on Saturday morning is the most absurd thing to her. HBear on the other hand has slept in the same room with SBean since she was born into the family. So, it seemed fitting that we make a bed out of couch cushions on the floor of SweetPea’s room so HBear would feel more comfortable. WELL. Let’s just say thank god HBear is accustomed to sleeping through high pitched screaming, talking, flying stuffies and head banging. It took a few nights for SweetPea to realize it was not a party in her room. And for us to realize that if SweetPea is asleep BEFORE HBear goes to bed, all is well in the world.

7. Moms are always behind the camera.

I’ve read articles about how mom’s need to have more pictures of them with their kids and THOUGHT I was doing pretty well with that. Until I a) looked through all my pictures from this trip and only had one of me and HBear and b) HBear said “Auntie Kari, why are there only pictures of Uncle Seb with Sweet Pea around your house? You need more of YOU with her!” Point HBear! I will make a bigger effort to be in pictures.

8. My Dad is a fabulous Grandpa.

My visits with Dad are usually short and involves him engrossed in his work, as he is a business owner. This visit was different. He was involved with the girls in every aspect. Meal times, bath time, bedtime, etc. And it melted my freaking heart. Thanks for a great visit Dad!

9. My husband is my hero :)

You know, I never seem to give enough credit the great guy I was so lucky to marry. He is a teacher who is also working on his masters, so he’s pretty busy outside our personal life. Over this week he stepped up, big time. He cooked a whole chicken dinner for 15 of my family members…and cleaned up while I looked after a sick SweetPea. He took HBear to Dollorama and entertained them with crafts all day, when I had to work. He drove everywhere, enjoyed a Calgary Flames game with my Dad (thanks Uncle Ken!), supervised, reasoned, and most importantly….smiled the whole time! Well, besides the day he stayed at home with the flu….and kept SweetPea (who was sick also) so we could take HBear to see Cinderella. I’m a lucky girl!

10. What?! A SECOND kid?

As some of you may know, my sister puts a fair bit of pressure on me to have another child. She just couldn’t imagine me missing out on all the moments she gushes about when it comes to her girls together. I get it. I grew up with 2 siblings and we all learned so much from each other, like how to outsmart mom and dad. Is it selfish of me to say I am more than exhausted just thinking about another kid? We have a great routine in our house that involves… sleep. And wine to help us sleep :) I guess we will see if the love of another child will outweigh my sleep and wine habit hahaha Stay tuned!

During our fun filled week, we…..