HaysDays

Happy Mother's Day, everybody! I hope you all have a great weekend! But before you take off and enjoy your children - I need some motherly advice!!  :)

This will be my second Mother's Day. Emmy was 4 weeks old last year - and now look at her!! She looks so much like her dad!

   

 I can't believe she is walking, almost talking (she does baby sign language), and is definitely independent (wonder where she gets that from!!). And now, in about 6 weeks, my second daughter, Lily Rae, will arrive.

It's strange because I am nervous all over again about having a baby in the house. Emmy has grown up so much - and now there will be another tiny little baby with us. But my main concern is having two children so close together (14 months apart). I don't want to push Emmy to be a "big girl" and grow up - afterall she is still a baby, too. But I also don't want to treat the girls like they are twins. Emmy is the big sister and Lily Rae will always be the baby sister.

So - all you Moms (and Dads)- any advice?? And I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

Chevy Chase has his "Vegas Vacation" and "European Vacation" - but he's got nothin' on our Hawaii Vacation! LOVE those movies - and thank goodness only the beginning of our trip started out like his (picture this in the original "Vacation": Clark Griswold backing out of the garage and the luggage getting ripped off the top of the car or poor Aunt Edna being tied to the roof!).  Thank goodness no one died on our trip!!

Our trip last month to Hawaii started off a little rough - all thanks to Mother Nature! This was mid-March when the snow decided to settle in over North Texas. It took us two and a half hours to get to the airport - and we almost didn't make our American Airlines flight (imagine the tense moments in the car on the way to the airprot!!). Well - we made it with minutes to spare.. and lucky we did -  or we wouldn't have been able to sit on the tarmac for almost 6 hours before we took off on an 8 hour flight!! UGH 

I had plenty of food and drinks for Emmy - and for me since I am pregnant - but lots of the other passengers were complaining about no beverage service. After about 3 hours - American served drinks - making the group of seniors who needed liquid for their meds - very happy!! We had continuous coverage of the Storm and I did a couple of phoners from the plane with Clarice, Baron and Eagar. Of course Eagar asked the question of the day, "Heather, we know you are waiting to be de-iced and they are finally serving beverages - but really - what's the mood on the plane?? How are you and Jeff?" insert laughter here!! Yes, we've all had our moments where we wonder if the vacation will be worth the getting there... and in this case YES!!

Check out this picture. It tells exactly how fabulous the trip was. This is a shot of Emmy from the beach at our hotel - the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki.

One word to describe it - UNBELIEVABLE. We had a view of Diamond Head and the ocean - and every morning we went for walks on the property where Emmy got to reach in the ponds for the fish and feed the birds with wildlife experts. There are also some penguins who live in a great area at the hotel - they are SO cute.

And the newly revised lagoon is gorgeous. The hotel spent $15 million to dredge out the salt water area next to the hotel - and refill it with brackish water. I have great pics of Emmy on a surf board in the lagoon - that I promise to upload soon!

But meantime - check out this family photo. It was also taken at the Hilton Hawaiian Village... What a great keepsake! 

Every day was wonderful - We ate breakfast every morning looking out out the ocean - SO peaceful! Then we hopped in the car - and Jeff headed to the North Shore. He rented a 12' long board and hit the waves at Sunset. He's really good - and it was fun to watch him.  He also surfed with some dear friends of mine - Randy has surfed the Pipeline for 50 years - so he showed Jeff the best/safest places to go.

I also got to visit with my former Miss Hawaii USA pageant director and see some old friends at Chaminade. It was a great trip - loved seeing my Island Ohana - and especially loved seeing Emmy's face light up every moment she was in the ocean. What a thrill!!

Since the trip - I have had SO many people ask how it went (lots of people heard the phone interview I did from the plane while stuck on the tarmac!) - and while that was a bit challenging - once we got to Honolulu - it was all worth it. So thanks for the emails and calls about the LONG plane trip - but if I had it to do all over again - I definitely would.

This was our big vacation of the year - Have you ever been to Hawaii?? I'd love to hear your stories!  Aloha!!    :)

Dick Raasch, Twanda Twine, Forrest Green… all names of people I have met. And, yes, Dick Raasch really is a man I knew in Hawaii – a great guy by the way!! We’ve all heard an odd name and thought, “What were their parents thinking?” (or in Dick’s case wonder why he didn’t go by Richard!). But - we don’t say anything. Until now!

There’s a new book out called “Bad Baby Names” filled with thousands of colorful names given to real people by their parents – names like Tiny Hooker, Bread White, Good Dog, Monday Monday, and Fanny Large. I’d love to hear some of the names you’ve heard… and if there’s a story behind it – share that, too!!

Oh, I also remember the neighborhood sisters I knew growing up - Pearl, Opal, Ruby, and Sapphire Jones!! Thanks for sharing!!

...Because I did it through my daughter's eyes. Of course, right now, she's just wondering who the guy with the hairy, friendly face is! But in a couple of years, she will know exactly who Santa is - and wonder how he can make it all the way around the world in one night delivering all those toys to good little girls and boys. But Jeff and I have already agreed that Emmy will grow up understanding the true meaning of Christmas. Not the tree and toys, presents and parties - but the faith and family behind the Christmas Season.

This weekend, we took Emmy to meet Santa at NorthPark Center - and what a great time we had!  

                                                

But if you are thinking about doing the same thing - let me pass on a few tips. As soon as you get to the mall, get  your "number" to see Santa (on the second floor outside Neiman Marcus). This is a free family event - but you do have to have a number. We were number 103 - and they were on number 48 when we got there! So, we shopped for a couple of hours before our number came up! Don't show up with your children perfectly pressed for photos - because you might have a wait!!

Also - be sure to bring your own camera (I thought we forgot ours - because every time I leave the house is like I am moving somewhere I have so much stuff!!). Santa has a professional photog ( who takes great pictures) - but you can take your own pics too - and save some money! Also, mom and dad - jump in the photo!! I saw entire families lining up in their Christmas best to take a photo with Jolly Old Saint Nick - what a great holiday tradition.

I look forward to seeing Santa Claus through Emmy's eyes every year - and seeing how she changes. This year - it was bright  eyes and curiousity. She didn't cry at all - which I hear alot of kids do. Next year? Things will be a lot different. But for right now - I am hanging on to the wonderful memories of our first Christmas!!

From the Komen Dallas Race for the Cure - to the State Fair of Texas - what a great weekend to be in North Texas! And what a joy to share it all with Emmy!! Now I feel like a true Weekend Warrior (I have the soreness to prove it!) - because we were so incredibly busy. I have the Mud Run coming up in a few weeks - so I can just imagine how sore I will be after that!! But... back to this weekend...

First I want to say "Thank you" to all the volunteers and supporters out at NorthPark Center for the Race for the Cure. It was such a moving morning - to see a Sea of Pink (breast cancer survivors) surrounded by more than 26,000 supporters was incredible. This is the 5th year FOX4 has been the TV sponsor of the event - and every year I am so inspired by the strength of the survivors. Emmy (who is now 6 1/2months) joined us for the event. How wonderful it would be if - by the time she grows up - breast cancer is no more. Maybe then we can have a Race for the Cure Celebration 5K - to celebrate that a cure was found - instead of raising funds while we still look for a cure. Either way - Emmy and I started a new tradition - a "Mommy and Me" 5k. This year she was in her Baby Bjorn on my chest (so I am sore!!) and she fell asleep at about mile one - but we had a blast! In a few years she will be walking it on her own! And thanks to Krystle Gutierrez for walking with us Saturday. It was a morning to remember!

Sunday we went to the State Fair of Texas - ate corny dogs, got our picture in front of Big Tex (another tradition!), and comforted my sister after she got a "not so good" feeeling after the anti-gravity ride! I think I needed all that walking at the fair to work out the Saturday stiffness!

Well, they say kids keep you young - but on this Monday, I am feeling every bit of 40!! But I wouldn't trade a single moment of this weekend of first's with Emmy!! Now let's just what next weekend brings....  :)

Today marks a first for Emmy Elizabeth! My little one turned completely over for the very first time! For the past two weeks she has come awfully close - but her little arm would get stuck underneath her. Well, today - she turned over and pushed herself up to check out the world around her!!

Like a lot of working moms who miss milestones in their children's lives, I missed this one. But - my mom didn't. She is in town to take our "3 Generations" pictures tomorrow. She called and was so happy to have been the first to see Emmy's Rock Then Roll! So working moms - if we can't be there to see the first steps or hear the first words, hopefully someone who loves our babies just as much will be there to cheer them on!

I admit it - I have done it! Rolled my eyes, tensed up, even tossed a look at the family flying with a baby. But now - I am the one with the baby! If you read Jason Overstreet's blog "Vacation Observations" - you know he's not necessarily fond of being on a flight with babies... so that got me thinking about an upcoming trip with my baby. Jeff, Emmy, and hit the skies in just a few weeks to go to my little brother's East Coast wedding. So - are other flyers going to think my little angel will make their trip miserable? NO WAY!

But - just in case we run into some "traveling with baby turbulence" - anyone have any tips on how to make the trip fun for the baby - as well as other travelers? I think she will do just fine - she is already a great traveler. We just got back from a 2200 mile car trip - and she was perfect (really she was! I was the one who was cranky!). We visted the baby's great grandmothers, great aunts/uncles, and cousins - and had a great time. I think she fussed maybe 5 minutes the entire trip - and, no, she didn't sleep the whole time in the car!!  :)

So - by the end of the summer, Emmy will have conquered planes and automobiles - so here's an early warning to all you train travelers - that will be her next journey! Safe travels everyone!

Have you ever wondered what Steve Eagar is saying during the newscast -  when our mics are off but you can still see us talking? Have you ever wondered what Mike Doocy has on under the desk - shorts or long pants?  How does Dan Henry prepare his weather forecast? What do Baron's office and the edit bays look like??   :)  Well, now is your chance to find out the answers to those questions - and a whole lot more!

 

Tonight at 8:55 central - Steve Noviello begins our "All Access" programming - and he will follow what happens in the studio, the control room, and the newsroom (as well as other nooks and crannys of FOX4)  during the newscast. He will not only talk to the mangers, director, and producer, he will also talk to people roaming the halls of FOX4 (last night he got Clarice Tinsley to sing - maybe that will happen again!).

 

This is our chance to share with you - what we do every day. "All Access" - tonight beginning right before FOX4 News at 9. Watch us on TV - and online. Two different perspectives - one great product!

"Hello, my name is Heather. And I am a pageant junkie!"
I may as well confess "Pageant Night" means cheers and tears as I nervously watch the competition go from dozens wanting the crown to just one who wears the crown (and, no, Martucci, I don't wear my Miss Hawaii USA crown while I watch!!).

Last night's Miss Universe Pageant exploded with glitz and glamour - as well as all the gossip you could carry from Queer Eye's Carson Kressley and former Miss USA Shani Finnessey. Cecily (Jeff's daughter) and I scored the contestants... while Jeff patiently waited for the swimsuit competition - then left the room to watch boxing. :)

I know there are some anti-pageant people out there - those who roll their eyes at the idea of women competing for a rhinestone crown (btw - the Miss Universe crown is worth $250,000) - but before you try to tarnish the tiara, just remember, the Miss America Organization is the world's largest provider of scholarships to women across the country.

As I watched Miss Universe, I flashed back to my 4 weeks at the Miss USA pageant (circa 1992!) - and I have great memories... OK, sure, I lost. But one of my best friends beat me (Miss California, Shannon Marketic - who totally deserved to win!). And yes, my roommate wasn't all that nice to me. In fact, I overheard her on the phone one night whispering, "You should see her thighs..." UGH... and yes, someone stole my state costume and hid it under the main stage. But some Kansas State Troopers found it just in time for me to get it on for Preliminary Award Night. That's when my name was called as the State Costume winner! I couldn't believe it! I should have listened to that instinct. Seconds after heard my name, I heard "Oppss. We're sorry. You were second place." Maybe my costume should have stayed under that stage after all.

So after all that, why am I a pageant junkie? Because I am a Texan - and that's what Texas girls do! And because I am an aging beauty queen who still loves the thrill of victory (and wants to forget the agony of defeat!!). Check out the photo of me with the really big Texas hair that I still had when I lived in Hawaii - and won Miss Hawaii USA! :)

And, of course, Congrats to the beautiful Miss Puerto Rico who won Miss Universe yesterday - she has a brilliant future ahead of her!

Hi! Welcome to FOX4’s new website – what do you think? I have been at FOX almost 6 years now and it’s amazing to see how interactive we have become. Of course there’s always been the Viewers Voice (Fridays at 5:30 and 9!), but we started our “All Access” phone lines earlier this year and now we have our blogs – another way for you to tell us what’s on your mind. So what’s on my mind right now? Prince. Not William or Harry. But the man formerly known as a symbol – who is now Royalty again. When he hit the AI stage during the finale show – I got chills! He completely validated “American Idol” as a true star maker. So were you one of the 30 million who watched? And did you pick Taylor? Let me know! Have a great day!