I will mark the date on my calendar. As of Monday, May 10th, 2010 - I officially own my car!!! Whoo-hoo! Made the last payment yesterday and what a great feeling. I'm not sure what I was expecting (maybe the auto loan company would send me some flowers or something)but it came and went with little celebration - except for me and Matt! We certainly noticed it and our bank account will notice it next month :) This is the 2005 White Mazda Tribute that I purchased 1 month before moving to Charlotte in May 2005 and it's finally mine. It was my first BIG step toward independence. It was my way of telling the world that I could do anything I wanted...move across the country - SURE! Buy a new car - SURE! You couldn't stop me! (haha!) It's important to mention that while I was inching toward independence, I still needed Don's help in making the purchase. I'd still have 2 years left to pay on it if he hadn't handled the negotiations!
My little Tribute has been on a journey - started in Texas, rode on an semi to Charlotte, received new NC license plates(I cried that day) and has treated me well for the past five years. I'm proud to say she's mine!
I promise to write about Maddy for the next post but I couldn't let this moment pass without documenting!
Hope everyone's having a great week.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Don't Touch!
It's been a great week! Maddy's dance class went really well and she LOVED it! She learned new moves and when I got home (late) that night, she said "Mommy, I flap like a butterfly and I bend!" Yesterday was a Tea Party for Mother's Day at Maddy's school so I went and had cookies and participated in Circle Time - that's another blog for another day! Today was the St. Jude Trike a Thon at her school and she got to meet "Bear Care." I'm not really sure that's his real name but he's a bear that travels to schools to teach the kids about bike and car safety. Suprisingly, she was more excited about the sticker he gave her than actually talking to the bear.
Tonight we went to a great little shopping area and had dinner and walked and people watched. It's amazing how long she can stay entertained just watching other people. Now if I could just get her to stop pointing and saying "Mommy, what him doing?"
As part of this evening, we needed to run into a nice little shop with LOTS of breakable items. So, as we walked to the store Matt and I gave Maddy the riot act about not touching anything, just look - everything's breakable. She nodded her head as though she understood. So, we walk in and 30 seconds later Matt goes to pick up one of these items and Maddy yells "Daddy DON'T TOUCH, just look!" Half of me was embarrassed and half of me was impressed :)
Oh - I'll almost forgot. A new discovery in the car today. When you think they aren't really listening/understanding but they are....I'm constantly talking to her in the car and not really sure how much she's absorbing but lately she's fascinated with school buses and a few days ago I went into this 10 minutes explanation about the difference between a school bus and a city bus. Kids riding to school vs. Adults riding to work, etc. Tonight we're in the car and she's says "Look Daddy - City Bus."
Until the next blog moment occurs - I hope all the great Moms we know have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. I'm hoping mine includes Mimosas and some quality time at Hobby Lobby!
Tonight we went to a great little shopping area and had dinner and walked and people watched. It's amazing how long she can stay entertained just watching other people. Now if I could just get her to stop pointing and saying "Mommy, what him doing?"
As part of this evening, we needed to run into a nice little shop with LOTS of breakable items. So, as we walked to the store Matt and I gave Maddy the riot act about not touching anything, just look - everything's breakable. She nodded her head as though she understood. So, we walk in and 30 seconds later Matt goes to pick up one of these items and Maddy yells "Daddy DON'T TOUCH, just look!" Half of me was embarrassed and half of me was impressed :)
Oh - I'll almost forgot. A new discovery in the car today. When you think they aren't really listening/understanding but they are....I'm constantly talking to her in the car and not really sure how much she's absorbing but lately she's fascinated with school buses and a few days ago I went into this 10 minutes explanation about the difference between a school bus and a city bus. Kids riding to school vs. Adults riding to work, etc. Tonight we're in the car and she's says "Look Daddy - City Bus."
Until the next blog moment occurs - I hope all the great Moms we know have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. I'm hoping mine includes Mimosas and some quality time at Hobby Lobby!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Dance! Dance!
Tomorrow is a big day for Maddy (and Mommy). Wednesday, May 5th is Maddy's first day of DANCE class!!! Her school is great about offering extracurricular activities as part of the day so parents can still allow their children to participate in activities without driving them all over town everyday. So, Maddy is signed up for dance class. My confession is that I've been dreaming of this since the day she was born. I will be ok if she doesn't enjoy it but based on her love of music so far, I'm thinking we will have to drag her out of class each week. Even if that's not the case, I'm excited for her to try it.
We've known for about a month that she was taking dance class and in a weak moment a couple weeks back I did what many parents do - I held it over her head. I explained to her that she wasn't being a good listener (as she darted from my car in the grocery store parking lot) and told her that she was signed up for dance class but could only go if she was a good listener. Then later that night she acted up again and I told her she wasn't being a good listener and she started crying "class dance, class dance." I know, I should feel guilty about that but we all have our weak moments and truth be told - It worked so I've used it to my advantage for the past two weeks.
Now the day has arrived and we made a big trip to Target on Saturday to pick up shoes, tights and leotards. We tried them on tonight and she was SO excited. She did a LOT of spinning with her little skirt.
Exciting and crazy to think my baby is a two year old getting ready to go to dance class.
I've always thought Madelyn was a great name for a Ballerina! :)
We've known for about a month that she was taking dance class and in a weak moment a couple weeks back I did what many parents do - I held it over her head. I explained to her that she wasn't being a good listener (as she darted from my car in the grocery store parking lot) and told her that she was signed up for dance class but could only go if she was a good listener. Then later that night she acted up again and I told her she wasn't being a good listener and she started crying "class dance, class dance." I know, I should feel guilty about that but we all have our weak moments and truth be told - It worked so I've used it to my advantage for the past two weeks.
Now the day has arrived and we made a big trip to Target on Saturday to pick up shoes, tights and leotards. We tried them on tonight and she was SO excited. She did a LOT of spinning with her little skirt.
Exciting and crazy to think my baby is a two year old getting ready to go to dance class.
I've always thought Madelyn was a great name for a Ballerina! :)
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Happy MAY!
Wow! I'm having a hard time writing the date on things - I can't believe it's MAY already! Last week was a busy one so there wasn't time to blog every time I had a thought so I've missed documenting a few funny things. To save on time and energy, I will just say we had a great week and summarize:
1. Maddy is convinced that when I say Okey, Dokey....I'm really saying Okey, Donkey!
2. Matt and I are lacking in the nursery rhyme department so we decided one night this week to Google a few songs for Maddy so we could learn the words. Needless to say, I'm glad she's only two and had no idea what she was watching. There are people in the world that have WAY too much time on their hands and choose to spend it making inappropriate versions of children's music online.
3. While watching the nursery rhyme videos, Matt has decided that Maddy is a children's music groupie. She sits there and sways her head with this far off look - Matt says he's glad they don't have drummers or we would be in trouble.
4. Matt and I finally figured out two songs that Maddy's been singing for a month. She would just mumble a few words and we had no idea how to fill in the blanks. After a little investigating, we determined she's singing "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree" and "Baby Bumblebee." Cute songs but bugs and animals die in both. Not sure how I feel about that. Both the bees and the monkeys deserve it for acting so ugly but I'm a little unsure about my daughter happily singing about crocodiles snapping monkeys out of trees :)
Matt and I took a day of vacation on Friday and went to the Quail Hollow Golf Tournament. Absolutely a great way to spend a Friday. Saw a little bit of Phil and Tiger, enjoyed the sunshine (a little too much) and were given suite tickets by some friends so we lived the life for the day. Great day!
The first week of May is proving to be a busy one. Maddy's first dance class is Wednesday! Went to buy her "uniform" this weekend and can't wait to see her in those little shoes. Duke's Annual Shareholders Meeting is Thursday morning and I'm serving as a volunteer so looking forward to that and hoping the protesters behave themselves. Thursday afternoon is an afternoon tea for Mother's Day at Maddy's school. The weekend will be spent celebrating all things Mommy! YAY! Matt continues to do A LOT of work around the outside of our house. We now have a garden, fresh mulch and rock around our back deck. Looks great and really excited to see everything looking so nice!
Happy First week of May - I'll try to do better with my blogging :)
1. Maddy is convinced that when I say Okey, Dokey....I'm really saying Okey, Donkey!
2. Matt and I are lacking in the nursery rhyme department so we decided one night this week to Google a few songs for Maddy so we could learn the words. Needless to say, I'm glad she's only two and had no idea what she was watching. There are people in the world that have WAY too much time on their hands and choose to spend it making inappropriate versions of children's music online.
3. While watching the nursery rhyme videos, Matt has decided that Maddy is a children's music groupie. She sits there and sways her head with this far off look - Matt says he's glad they don't have drummers or we would be in trouble.
4. Matt and I finally figured out two songs that Maddy's been singing for a month. She would just mumble a few words and we had no idea how to fill in the blanks. After a little investigating, we determined she's singing "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree" and "Baby Bumblebee." Cute songs but bugs and animals die in both. Not sure how I feel about that. Both the bees and the monkeys deserve it for acting so ugly but I'm a little unsure about my daughter happily singing about crocodiles snapping monkeys out of trees :)
Matt and I took a day of vacation on Friday and went to the Quail Hollow Golf Tournament. Absolutely a great way to spend a Friday. Saw a little bit of Phil and Tiger, enjoyed the sunshine (a little too much) and were given suite tickets by some friends so we lived the life for the day. Great day!
The first week of May is proving to be a busy one. Maddy's first dance class is Wednesday! Went to buy her "uniform" this weekend and can't wait to see her in those little shoes. Duke's Annual Shareholders Meeting is Thursday morning and I'm serving as a volunteer so looking forward to that and hoping the protesters behave themselves. Thursday afternoon is an afternoon tea for Mother's Day at Maddy's school. The weekend will be spent celebrating all things Mommy! YAY! Matt continues to do A LOT of work around the outside of our house. We now have a garden, fresh mulch and rock around our back deck. Looks great and really excited to see everything looking so nice!
Happy First week of May - I'll try to do better with my blogging :)
Friday, April 23, 2010
Melting Mommy's Heart
Today was one of those days - a melt your heart day. A little background first. Matt had a dinner to go to for work tonight so it was going to be me and Maddy for the night. It's so beautiful today and I hated to just pick her up from school and come home so I decided we would take a little picnic to the park and try to feed a few ducks. By picnic, I mean we went to Chick-fil-A for nuggets and apple juice. We took our food and headed to the park. After we found the perfect place, we sat and had the most peaceful dinner EVER! 
Someone even walked by and asked how old Maddy was and when I said two, they couldn't believe she was sitting still for so long. It was the greatest thing. Mommy and Maddy, sitting in the sunshine enjoying dinner while watching the ducks in the water. 
After dinner, we decided to walk and see if we could find a duck. We did and luckily Mommy brought an old loaf of bread and Maddy loved it! She was throwing bread to the ducks and saying "Mommy, they quacken me!" There were a few not so pleasant moments when the word started to spread to the geese. I'm convinved most of them are evil and that slow walk they do toward you...I just kept thinking "oh man, this is going to end up on funniest home videos when one of these things chases me into the water." Anyway, we managed to escape and as we walked away, my sweet girl, holding her apple juice said, "Mommy, I happy." I could've died right there. So nice to have a moment like that when it's clear Maddy was appreaciating the moment, only the way a two year old can.
We made it home and I promised her blueberries for dessert. She's obsessed with blueberries and we have to cut her off because I'm afraid she will make herself sick. While I was washing them off, she stopped and said "Mommy, you want to share with me?" Again, could've died. We've really been pushing the sharing concept so that was a great moment.
A great day with quality moments. Happy Friday!
**Update - While I waited to upload these pictures I was in the process of putting Maddy to bed. I gave her a big hug and told her how much fun I had with her today and then asked her if she had fun - she said no. Ugh! Mommy's heart is done melting for the day.
Someone even walked by and asked how old Maddy was and when I said two, they couldn't believe she was sitting still for so long. It was the greatest thing. Mommy and Maddy, sitting in the sunshine enjoying dinner while watching the ducks in the water. 
After dinner, we decided to walk and see if we could find a duck. We did and luckily Mommy brought an old loaf of bread and Maddy loved it! She was throwing bread to the ducks and saying "Mommy, they quacken me!" There were a few not so pleasant moments when the word started to spread to the geese. I'm convinved most of them are evil and that slow walk they do toward you...I just kept thinking "oh man, this is going to end up on funniest home videos when one of these things chases me into the water." Anyway, we managed to escape and as we walked away, my sweet girl, holding her apple juice said, "Mommy, I happy." I could've died right there. So nice to have a moment like that when it's clear Maddy was appreaciating the moment, only the way a two year old can.
We made it home and I promised her blueberries for dessert. She's obsessed with blueberries and we have to cut her off because I'm afraid she will make herself sick. While I was washing them off, she stopped and said "Mommy, you want to share with me?" Again, could've died. We've really been pushing the sharing concept so that was a great moment.
A great day with quality moments. Happy Friday!
**Update - While I waited to upload these pictures I was in the process of putting Maddy to bed. I gave her a big hug and told her how much fun I had with her today and then asked her if she had fun - she said no. Ugh! Mommy's heart is done melting for the day.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
One Year
Matt and I celebrated our First Wedding Anniversary today. What a year! I've been saying "one year ago this time we were..." all weekend. Thinking back on our wedding has been fun. We were so lucky to have some many of our friends and family with us on that special day. We were daydreaming today about the place we stayed in Dallas the day after our wedding and what amazing service they provided. Not to mention the pillow cases with our (my) new initials embroidered. Beautiful and such a great thing to bring home. It kept me from buying a t-shirt in the gift shop for $50! :)
Our Friday night was spent having dinner and drinks with some of our closest friends, many of which were in our bridal party. A rehearsal dinner of sorts. Saturday was pretty normal but I did finally take three of our wedding photos to have them custom framed. Nothing like waiting a year later. It's done, that's what matters right? This morning I awoke to see our new living room ceiling fan had been installed in the middle of the night. 
We purchased it Friday and had been discussing the best time to install. Matt waited until I went to sleep last night and then put it up to surprise me. Anyone that knows me well knows that I consider things like cleaning and installing ceiling fans to be VERY romantic gestures.
I received a gift certificat for a massage scheduled for this Friday night (one of my favorite things in the world!) and Matt got a new watch. He's been looking at them for months so I decided not to wait for Father's Day. I did warn him that Father's Day may be a homemade coffee mug or something similar because I blew my budget. Then to top off the day, Matt surprised me with a wonderful lunch and mimosas (another one of my favorite things in the world!) at North Harbor Restaurant on Lake Norman.
Great view, great food and a great surprise! Thanks to Ben and Lindsey for providing their babysitting services :)
We purchased it Friday and had been discussing the best time to install. Matt waited until I went to sleep last night and then put it up to surprise me. Anyone that knows me well knows that I consider things like cleaning and installing ceiling fans to be VERY romantic gestures.
I received a gift certificat for a massage scheduled for this Friday night (one of my favorite things in the world!) and Matt got a new watch. He's been looking at them for months so I decided not to wait for Father's Day. I did warn him that Father's Day may be a homemade coffee mug or something similar because I blew my budget. Then to top off the day, Matt surprised me with a wonderful lunch and mimosas (another one of my favorite things in the world!) at North Harbor Restaurant on Lake Norman.
Great view, great food and a great surprise! Thanks to Ben and Lindsey for providing their babysitting services :)
All in all, a wonderful weekend. I'll try to keep this short because I don't want to embarrass my husband but this has by far been the greatest year of my life spent with a wonderful man that truly cares about my happiness each and every day. What a blessing!
Here's to many more years to celebrate!
Mr. and Mrs. Hecht :)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
When the school calls...
Grandparent WARNING: Unpleasant picture attached
It's never really a good thing when your child's school calls during the day. It normally doesn't mean they want to tell you how great things are going. I had a 9:30 meeting this morning and when I finished, I had a missed call from Maddy's school and an email from Matt. The email from Matt started with - Ms. Stephanie called and another child bit Maddy in the face. I think that's all I read of the email because I was in shock. WHAT?!?! Someone bit Maddy in the FACE??? How does that even happen? I know toddlers sometimes bite but in the FACE??
So, the story goes like this: Maddy was stretched out on a large yellow pillow that is apparently a class favorite. The teacher says it's large enough for three of them to share and normally they all lay on it together. Today, another little girl who was having a grumpy day, wanted the pillow and wasn't too interested in sharing it with Maddy. So, when Maddy didn't surrender the pillow, the little girl leaned over and left her teeth marks in Maddy's jaw. The school did everything right. Cleaned her face, applied an ice pack to help with the SWELLING, loved on our little one and then called to inform us of the incident. The skin wasn't broken so medical attention was not required but an "incident report" was sent home for our signature. This all sounds so official as I'm typing and it also sounds so silly but biting in schools is big business these days. Some places have a three strikes and you're out rule.
So, mark this one down as a first. First call from school to say our child has an injury inflicted by another child. The good news, Maddy didn't retaliate. The teacher says she was in shock and didn't even know how to react which makes us feel good - to know that her first reaction wasn't to punch the other little girl in the nose. Of course, the other parents feel awful and I can sympathize with that because I would be mortified if Maddy did that to another child.
A few people told us the mark will sometimes last for a week and goes from red to bruised - good thing school pictures are done!
Note: Matt picked her up today and when he saw her face, he told her she could have anything she wanted for dinner. Fried chicken and french fries were requested. :)
Hopefully tomorrow will be a little less eventful. Until then........
It's never really a good thing when your child's school calls during the day. It normally doesn't mean they want to tell you how great things are going. I had a 9:30 meeting this morning and when I finished, I had a missed call from Maddy's school and an email from Matt. The email from Matt started with - Ms. Stephanie called and another child bit Maddy in the face. I think that's all I read of the email because I was in shock. WHAT?!?! Someone bit Maddy in the FACE??? How does that even happen? I know toddlers sometimes bite but in the FACE??
So, the story goes like this: Maddy was stretched out on a large yellow pillow that is apparently a class favorite. The teacher says it's large enough for three of them to share and normally they all lay on it together. Today, another little girl who was having a grumpy day, wanted the pillow and wasn't too interested in sharing it with Maddy. So, when Maddy didn't surrender the pillow, the little girl leaned over and left her teeth marks in Maddy's jaw. The school did everything right. Cleaned her face, applied an ice pack to help with the SWELLING, loved on our little one and then called to inform us of the incident. The skin wasn't broken so medical attention was not required but an "incident report" was sent home for our signature. This all sounds so official as I'm typing and it also sounds so silly but biting in schools is big business these days. Some places have a three strikes and you're out rule.
So, mark this one down as a first. First call from school to say our child has an injury inflicted by another child. The good news, Maddy didn't retaliate. The teacher says she was in shock and didn't even know how to react which makes us feel good - to know that her first reaction wasn't to punch the other little girl in the nose. Of course, the other parents feel awful and I can sympathize with that because I would be mortified if Maddy did that to another child.
A few people told us the mark will sometimes last for a week and goes from red to bruised - good thing school pictures are done!
Note: Matt picked her up today and when he saw her face, he told her she could have anything she wanted for dinner. Fried chicken and french fries were requested. :)
Hopefully tomorrow will be a little less eventful. Until then........
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