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…..
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Defied Gravity |
Hoverboarded
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Learned |
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Got silly :) |
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Observed |
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Went to Telus Spark |
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Went shopping... I still don't know what the F*** she bought!! LOL |
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Snuggled |
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Observed |
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Climbed walls |
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Played video games |
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Went to Treehouse AKA HELL |
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Enjoyed the small things |
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Watched puppet shows |
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Did crafts |
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Played Monster High Go Fish |
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AND... had a family photoshoot! |
Thank you
for the memories HoneyBear!
Love,
Auntie Kari
xoxo
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