The many hats of a mother...

Yes, a mother wears many hats. I keep remembering Dr. Jones (my OB) talking to me at my 6 week check up after having Davis. He said..."Remember a mother wears many hats. You are HEATHER first, then a wife, then Blake's mom, then Davis' mom. Don't forget to wear everyone of those hats everyday." It's definatly a juggling act. I've been thinking about Dr. Jones' words a lot lately as our lives get busier and busier. Mainly I've been thinking of ways I can improve my life with each hat that I wear. Blake and Davis are both playing Fall Rec Baseball and Challenge Baseball. We spend more nights than not at the baseball field. I joke that it's our home away from home. On top of that Davis is in Cub Scouts and Blake is starting a basketball handlers club at school. I feel like most of our week consists of school, homework and running to and from extra activities. With the help of one of my newest addictions, Pinterest, I started "Mommy & Me" notebooks with each of my boys. These are cheap (.50 each from Walmart) composition notebooks, or cow notebooks, that we write notes to each other in almost daily. I will write a little something to Blake in his and leave it on his pillow one night and the next night he will write back and leave it on mine. I feel like this is just an extra way that I can make sure to tell them I'm proud of them and they can share anything they want with me. They are loving it and I'm so glad we started this. They will love going back and reading through them as the year goes on. Now, when it comes to the wife hat...I gave Steve a gift for Christmas that I also found on Pinterest. It was his FAVORITE gift! I made 12 envelopes with pre-planned date nights. One for each month of the year. It's been almost a year since I gave him that gift and I have to be honest...we haven't done a good job of keeping up with monthly date nights. We HAVE done a lot better about making time for "us" than we have in the past. This weekend we had one of our date nights. It wasn't one of the pre-planned ones and I have to say it was one of my favorite dates so far! We went to the Harvest Fest at Dennis Vineyards. We tasted wine and listened to great music. Then we went to one of our old favorites from when we were dating, Yadkin Valley Steakhouse. We stuffed our faces with steaks and all the fixings and then finished the evening at the Badin Road Drive In. We took the Jeep, put the seats down in the back and snuggled up in blankets while we watched The Odd Life of Timothy Green and Trouble With the Curve. Both GREAT movies! It was a wonderful night and made me realize we need to do things "just us" more often. The hardest part of wearing many hats is remembering to do things for yourself. Most people tend to put themselves on the back burner and I'm no different. I just turned 35 last month and I've decided that it's past time to do some things to better myself. I want people to be able to look at me as ...Heather and not just Steve's wife or Blake and Davis' mom. I've been trying my hardest to run. Now, let me say I am NOT a runner. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Just ask my track coach from High School. I only ran short distances. Yes, I have long legs and should be able to be a runner, but I've just never been good at it. I've been working with the Couch to 5K program for several years off and on. I've finally gotten serious about it and try to run at least twice a week. It's hard to find the time when you are a busy mom, but I've been know to run in my neighborhood at 10pm just so I can say I got it done! I'm on week 7 (and may be there for awhile), but I'm proud of my progress and feel confident that soon I'll be running my first 5K. I ran today and it was a horrible run, but at least I did it. :) The other thing I've decided to do is go back to school. I know I must be crazy and I don't have a clue how I'm going to fit it in. I'd love to have my Degree in Early Childhood Development. Steve is behind me 100% and that means more to me than anything. I'm starting out slow and only taking one 8 week course to see how it goes and my class starts tomorrow! If this class goes well, I may try to take 2 classes next semester. We will see. The good news is, I have a lot of credits already left from when I did go to school forever ago. At least I don't have to start from scratch! Yes, a mother wears many hats...she just always needs to remember to wear all those hats well!

One BUSY summer!

It's been one BUSY summer! Since my last post Blake's team has played a LOT of baseball! They ended up winning their Area Tournament at ITAA! It was very HOT, but we made it through the tournament! I don't see how these boys play in this heat!

After the Area Tournament we had a few days off to enjoy the 4th of July! We went to the Indian Trail parade (just like always). It was SO very hot...but the best float of all was the float for Extreme Ice Center...they had snow on their float and threw snowballs in the crowd! After the parade we took Alina to her favorite place to eat, Golden Corral. She LOVES how you can eat as much as you want and you don't have to pay everytime you get a plate!

On the 3rd, Alina had her dentist appointment. She was excited to see Dr Bird again! The cleaning went well, but she did have 2 cavities. She has lost all of her baby teeth and the cavities are in molars inbetween her teeth. So, we have to work really hard at teaching her to floss. She typically only brushes once a day in Belarus and that's not good since they don't have flouride in their water. I have a feeling we will be dealing with cavities year after year. July 5th was the beginning of Blake's State Tournament in Yadkinville. We found a hotel not far from the field that had an indoor pool and WATERSLIDES! The kids had a BLAST and I think they were all upset when it was time to come home! Blake's team went through the tournament undefeated and came home with the trophy! It was a very exciting tournament and Blake played really well! He is really hitting well and hit in the winning run of the first game of the 3 game championship series!

So now Blake's team is back to back 2 time WNC State Champions! Next stop is the Southeast Regional Tournament in Gaffney, SC (at least it's close this year). Games start next Thursday...wish us luck!!! We are in the process of trying to raise money to help defer the travel expenses, so if you know of anyone that may be interested let me know. Things are going great with Alina this year. It's amazing the difference a year can make. She is another year older and so are Blake and Davis. They are all more mature and are getting along more than not. Steve and I are also really trying to give each child equal attention. This weekend Steve took Davis to Cherokee camping, just the 2 of them. I can't wait to hear all about it. I'm sure they are having a blast! I can't believe we are already 1/3 of the way through Alina's visit!!!

Alina has arrived!

We got A LOT done yesterday morning. Set up Alina's room and cleaned the entire upstairs all before lunch. I don't think it's been that clean up there in months! (especially the boys bedrooms) After lunch the butterflies started in my stomach. I was so excited to see Alina again, but was nervous. You never know what this 10 year old has seen in the past year, how much she has matured or what she has gone through. She is an only child coming into a house with 2 children, which is difficult in itself. So yes, I was nervous. But her room was ready and she was on her way...no looking back!

We stopped at Hallmark on the way to the airport to get her a stuffed animal. We have given her one at the airport every year. This year we picked a large stuffed Snoopy. We got a phone call when we were about 20 minutes from the airport saying they had landed early at 2:45 (instead of 3:20), so now we are RUSHING. We know it will take them awhile to get through customs...but we don't want them to walk down that long hallway to find no one waiting. The airport is a mess! They are working on the parking decks and a lot of them are closed. So, Steve dropped us off while he went to find a parking space. By the time he finally got inside the airport the kids were already coming down the hallway! Alina looks exactly the same (but a little taller). She was all smiles and loves her snoopy! I could tell she was exhausted from her LONG trip! So, we quickly took our pictures and headed to the car. It was time for our annual trip to Fuddruckers for dinner. We had a great time with the other ABRO families at dinner and the kids had fun playing all the games.

Once we got home we helped Alina unpack. It's always sad to see the contents of her suitcase. Steve and I were curious to see what was inside ever since we picked her up at the airport...it felt like BRICKS! Well, she brought us enough candy to give us all a mouth full of cavities! She brought me 3 books about Belarus, postcards, linens and a magnet. She had dog treats for Bugsy, gifts for other extended family members, a computer game for the boys, etc. The only things she brought for herself were...2 tank tops, 3 pair of underwear, a pair of socks and a dress. So...today we must go shopping for clothes! I have a few things left from last year, but we need to try everything on and she what fits and what doesn't. I'm hoping we find some deals on some cute stuff! The boys are SO excited to have her back in the house. Everyone seems to be getting along...so far. ;) This morning they are busy making tent houses out of blankets. Lots of giggles are coming from upstairs! I hope this summer is FULL of giggles! My heart if full and I'm happy to have a full house once again!

Enjoying Summer...

We sure have been enjoying our summer. We have been super busy since the last day of school. We have been to Carowinds multiple times, helped Blake's teacher move her classroom to a different school, Davis had a week of Cub Scout Camp, a weekend in the mountains, LOTS of baseball and getting ready for Alina's arrival. I can't believe she will be here in 2 days! I've been through all her clothes left from last year and gotten rid of the things that I know are too small. We have had several fundraisers (Thirty One Gifts and Tastefully Simple) to help us with funding while she is here. I plan to take her shopping on Thursday to find clothes that fit! Tonight we painted an accent wall in the bonus room and cleaned really well. I'm not pulling out the bed until Wednesday so that the boys can still play the Wii for the next 2 days before she arrives. I do still have to pick up a few things at the store tomorrow...hair elastics and clips, underwear, a stuffed animal to take to the airport and a new pair of earrings. I'm sure the list will grow between and and the time I actually go shopping...but I think that's all I need before she gets here. The other things can wait. I do already have her dentist appointment scheduled with Dr Bird on July 2nd. I'm sure Alina will be happy to see the dentist again and I hope her visit goes as well as it did last year. Blake also has a BIG baseball tournament coming up this weekend. The Area Tournament starts on Thursday. We actually have a bye and don't play until Friday night at 6:30. The tournament is at ITAA so at least it's local. The boys have done a FABULOUS job so far and I'm sure they will do great once again in this tournament! I'm looking forward to the highs and lows of 9U All Stars to begin! We have a lot going on in the next few days/weeks. I will do my best to keep up on my blog. I will definatly catch up when I can. Wish us luck and I can't wait to hug my "daughter"!

I'm an Aunt AGAIN!

What an exciting day! I'm an Aunt...AGAIN! Stephanie and Ashley (and Stone) welcomed baby Tenley Cade into the world this morning by scheduled c-section. Momma and baby are doing great and I can't wait to get my hands on her! Blake and I went to the hospital early this morning and heard the news from Ashley, but the maternity department was out of beds (is it a full moon or something). So, Stephanie was stuck in recovery for a LONG time. We didn't hang out at the hospial and Steve and Davis went back to visit tonight. Blake and I will go in the morning after we drop Davis off at Cub Scout Camp. I can't wait to LOVE on her! CONGRATS Stephanie, Ashley and Stone! Thank you for once again making me an Aunt! It's the best gift in the world! *pictures to come*

Life...

Life is crazy as usual in the Efird house. Like I always say...if it's not crazy...it's not normal! This is the last week of school for the boys. It's hard to believe Blake will soon be a 4th grader and Davis a 2nd grader. Where in the world did the time go? They both got very lucky this year and ended up with AWESOME teachers! We all know that a teacher can make or break a school year. Blake has done so very well. He scored 4s of both his math and reading EOGs. Not too bad for the first year of end of grade testing...and I was worried about his reading at the beginning of the year. Ms.Melton did a great job of teaching him all the techniques to find those answers! We also just found out that he will be a part of AIG next year! He is SO very proud of himself and I'm excited for the challenge. Davis has grown LEAPS and BOUNDS since the beginning of the school year. Just barely reading at the beginning of the year and he's finishing off reading on a level 18! I'm so very proud of him! We will work this summer on more reading and practicing handwriting so he will be more than ready for 2nd grade! I think he may be in love with Mrs. Cochran! He doesn't know yet, but tomorrow they have an ice cream date. I think he may be so excited when he finds out that he may just wet his pants! LOL I can't wait to hear him tell me all about it! Blake has had another great baseball season between Rec Ball (GO ANGELS) and Challenge! I love being at the ballfield watching him play. He is growing into an awesome pitcher! He has once again made the PRAA All Star team and we have already begun our fundraising. We hope his team makes it as far as they did last year. (NC State Champs and 4th in the Region) But let's not get ahead of ourselves. They are a GREAT baseball team and I'm hoping for a LONG summer filled with baseball!! Last weekend we had a huge fundraising yard sale, which was a HUGE success! We are now selling raffle tickets to win a 39" LCD HDTV! Tickets are $3 each or 4 for $10. And we are also selling candles! Hopefully, we will reach our fundraising goal...or at least surpass what we raised last year! Davis also had another great season of baseball after we didn't even think he was going to play. Nothing like waiting until the very last minute to decide to sign up to play! He ended up playing catcher most of the season and loved it! More than baseball he has really fallen in love with Cub Scouts! I think we have found his niche! He only missed one meeting all year long and had a very successful year! Pinewood Derby has been his favorite activity so far! He finished 3rd overall in his Pack! We ended up going to the district race in Monroe where he finished in second place in the Tiger Cubs! The most exciting race was being able to go to ZMax Dragway and race in the Council Race! He left that race in tears without a trophy, but he and Steve both learned a few tricks for next year! I'm actually surprised they haven't already started the new car! ;) Davis just a few weeks ago was promoted from Tiger Cub to a Wolf and will be going to summer camp starting next Monday. I don't think he could be any more excited! We, as a family, also made the decision to invite Alina back this summer. It was a hard decision after last years CRAZY summer and her getting sick before she went home...but we all feel this is the best decision we could have made. She will be back with us on June 27th. I have TONS to do before then, but we will be as ready as possible. At least this summer we will all be able to travel as a family for baseball and hopefully a few family vacations. I'm nervous and excited to see what the family dynamic will be this summer. The past two years have been like night and day and I'm sure this year will be different as well. I just hope she is as excited to see us as we are to see her. I'm just ready to hug her neck and fill her belly!!! Here her new passport picture...I'm always a little sad when I see these pictures. I don't feel like she ever truely looks happy in pictures of her in Belarus. I can't wait to see her smile in her eyes again! I haven't done a good job at all keeping this blog updated and I'm going to do my best to try to check in at least once a week. I'm trying to change a few things within myself and need to be accountable for the changes I'm making. I've started the Couch to 5K program. I know I've said that before, but I'm DETERMINED to stick with it this time around. I'm going to find a 5K and register so I can't turn back! I need all the cheerleaders I can get since I'm about as far from a runner as one can be! So...I look forward to keeping things current on this blog...baseball, running, Alina, Cub Scouts and anything else life may throw my way!