bad blogger

i have been on a blogging hiatus.

natalie's sleeping habits have taken a turn for the worse. didn't know that was even possible. think newborn schedule. yawn.

my mind has been so foggy. funny things happen and i think "i need to blog about that." but when i sit down to blog, i can't remember what it was that was so funny. so frustrating.

i'll try to get back on track. i really do enjoy blogging, so it shouldn't be too hard. right natalie?

what tricks or routines did/do you use to get your baby to sleep and stay asleep?

monkey boy

zach has always been my little monkey. running, jumping, climbing over everything. he's now officially swinging across the monkey bars at school, too. such a school-age milestone. i know he's been working hard (mostly at being brave). this video was taken a while ago. he can now skip bars as he crosses the apparatus. he's one proud monkey.

zach often gets compared to joe as a kid. the daring, never stops, often gets injured kind of kid. joe jokingly refers to our 2nd born as "zachary 'head-wound' parker." he has had his fair share of head injuries.

i'd like to think he got some of that monkey-skill from me, too. i was a whiz on the bars in elementary school. i didn't get any head wounds though--i just needed to be kept away from roller skates!

when you were a kid, were you a monkey?

st. patrick's day photo shoot

so this is a bit late.

sometimes that happens when you have four kids.

sometimes it happens a lot. ha!

on st. patrick's day the kids wore green, of course. it was also our school's jog-a-thon, so we wore green to celebrate our eagle pride, as well. it was a fun day!

enjoy these goofy pictures of my four super goofy kids. i think this is one of their best photo shoots yet.



















do you remember our first photos as a family of 6? the grumpy faces, the crying, the extra super spazzy silliness?

do you have a hard or easy time taking family pictures?

can't get enough... spoons?

natalie wants to eat. she stares food down. she reaches for it practically begging with her eyes... feed me.

on saturday i fed her solid food (if you can call it that). this is only the third time. she has some food allergy issues going on, so we are taking it slow.

i mixed up a bowl of delicious whole grain rice cereal. yum! nat's eyes were smiling at the sight of it.

she reached and stretched to reach some more. she looks so tiny in her high chair.

finally she connected with that spoon filled of "solid" goodness.


oh. the. horror.

obviously not what she had been dreaming of.


the spoons were a hit though!

what do you think should be natalie's second solid food?

first day of spring

the weather has been dreadful. nothing spring-like about gray skies, nasty gusts of bitter cold wind,  and non-stop rain for days on end. i am craving sunshine and it's nowhere to be found. i have a new pair of flip flops calling my name. my fingers and toes are cold unless i cover them up. yes, i'm having a good ol' pity party. rain, rain go away!!!

here is what we are up to on this not-so-springy first day of spring...

taylor is working on his report. not by choice. hehe!

zach is snuggled under a blanket watching old school wiggles episodes. i wonder how old jeff is these days.


ben is building with blocks.

nattie is sleeping behind this door. i know better than to open the door and take a picture this time!

joe is computing.

this is where i am working. i did some school work and now i am blogging. nat's blanket is there, because she was playing next to me before nap time.

what are you up to on this first day of spring?

another milestone met

yesterday natalie sat up!

she was laying down and then she was sitting up.

just like that.

she was so focused on trying to pick something up, she didn't even realize what she'd done. but i did. i cheered and called for the whole family to come and celebrate this milestone with us. she was back on her tummy before they got there.

just another way natalie's growing up too fast.

bad word

last week we were getting out of the car and i hear "you dirty a**." i thought for sure i was hearing things.

then i heard "no, you're a dirty a**."

WHAT?!!!!

did i mention we were at school? and a parent was walking by?! oh. my. goodness.

i wanted to know where they heard that, who they heard it from, and why they were saying it. i demanded information.

turns out one of my kids made it up. seriously. i've always wondered how "bad words" come to be. i guess they just do. maybe nine year olds all over the world are coming up with made up phrases thinking they are funny and grown ups all over the world are gasping in horror calling these unknown words "bad."

i have no idea.

after the fact i thought it was a little funny. when it was happening, not so much.

what would you have done in my situation?

why do they grow so fast?

lately i've been missing being pregnant.

i'm a pretty miserable pregnant lady, so i'm not sure why.

maybe because there were two birth announcements at school this week. i got a little teary-eyed looking at those newborn photos.

i miss natalie being a newborn.

tonight she curled up next to me in bed and fell asleep. i laid there staring at her round baby face and smelling her sweet little head. i rubbed her big buddah belly and pushed the stray hairs off of her forehead. i want to remember these moments and savor them. i know they will pass all too quickly. i still can't believe she is 7 months old.

why do they have to grow so fast??



what's your favorite thing about babies?

mom's barber shop

last week i cut taylor's hair. i don't actually cut his hair--i shave it with clippers. nothing fancy at mom's barber shop.

he wanted to keep it somewhat long. i used a #8 all over and then put a #7 on to make the sides a bit shorter than the top. however, i accidentally put the #4 on thinking it was the #7. oops.

at first i thought "man, there's a big difference between #7 and #8." by the time i realized my mistake, there was no saving the mop on top.



i thought taylor would be really upset, but he was very understanding.

we even joked that he could make a costume beard... or two... from the cut hair.



come on, you know you'd want one!
good thing haircuts are free at mom's barber shop. :)

wednesday

some weeks are soooo long.

like this one.

is it friday yet? no, it's wednesday. only wednesday. bleh!

i feel tired and cranky and i want to stop coughing and i want to have one night of uninterrupted sleep. and... and... and...

that's all. not a fun post, i know. maybe i need to go look at some funny faces to cheer me up. or change the font to rainbow colors.

what do you do to snap out of a funky mood?

what does a town council member wear anyway?

taylor's class did a re-enactment of the mexican-spanish war. he did a great job!

taylor had two parts: padre and town council member.

the students had to collect props/costumes from home to use for their production. taylor brought boots, shoes, and a tie.

taylor told us very little about the whole thing. we practiced his lines a bit, but really everything we saw was pretty much a surprise. joe and i both were able to attend. we were very proud of our oldest son.

during his scene as the council member, i couldn't help but chuckle as taylor came out wearing this clip-on tie. it was my brother's when he was in 1st or 2nd grade. my boys love wearing that tie to "dress up" a t-shirt. so funny!

at the end of the performance, the students came out and bowed in groups based on the scenes they were in. thankfully taylor had two parts, so i could catch this little gem on tape.



way to make even a boring ol' bow exciting, tay!

7 months

on friday natalie had her 7 month birthday.

i was only a little bit sad.

sad that i will never have another 6 month old again. 6 months is one of my favorite ages.

at 7 months old, natalie is still the sweetest, go-with-the-flow kind of baby. don't get me wrong, she knows what she likes and doesn't like and she's not afraid to vocalize her opinions, but she isn't fussy and she hardly ever cries. in fact, when she's mad she grunts and spits. very lady-like! taking her places is super easy. she makes a great shopping buddy--something i hope will continue for a long time to come! she also is very patient--moreso than her brothers anyway. we love having her around so much--she's been the perfect addition to our crazy family!

some of nat's favorite things:
- her toes
- mrs. kong
- showers
- brothers
- reading books
- singing & dancing to katy perry
- musical frog from cousin jayden
- sleeping in mom and dad's bed

happy 7 month birthday, sweet baby girl!!

tgif

yep, it's friday again and that can only mean one thing... FAMILY NIGHT!

out of fairness i thought i'd post a picture of my pizza. it may be missing cheese, but it's still soooo good.



i hope you all have a great weekend. i think i'll take a little blogging break and be back on monday. :)

if you happen to stop by, tell me something good about this past week. our good news is that taylor is on the principal's honor roll again. way to go tay!

confessions

ben's "happy birthday" sign is still hanging up.

my floor hasn't been mopped since...?

there is a layer of dust on the bookcase.

our hallway shower hasn't had grout since i was on maternity leave and started chipping away at it.

i can hardly see out of the windows above the kitchen sink.

there is a load (or three) of laundry to be washed, folded, and put away.

the vacuum cleaner has made itself a permanent fixture in my living room, yet i haven't vacuumed since the weekend.

i plan for a healthy meal each night of the week, but sometimes i am too tired to cook, so i heat up something from the freezer.

i haven't sewn anything since my flag banner, but i haven't put my sewing machine away either.

dishes are piling up in the sink and on the counter, because the dishwasher is full... of clean dishes.

my bed isn't made... again.

i'm typing this instead of fixing any of the above things!

sometimes being a wife, mommy of four, and working mama is HARD! i run out of energy a lot, but more than that i run out of time. that is so frustrating to me! i try to *not care* about the above things, but the reality is i do care. so then i get even more frustrated and mad that no one else cares about these things and that they exist in the first place. such a ruthless cycle. i want to do and be more for my family, but there are days when i just want to crawl into bed and take a good long nap. after all, i'm not sure when the last time was that i slept more than 3 hours at a time. *yawn*

i'm not complaining. this is the life i chose and i love my life. i just want you to know it's not perfect or pretty or fun all the time. blogland can look that way sometimes.

what's something on your to-do list that you hope to get done this week?

wanna know what makes me happy?

i'm getting ready to plan for some craft tuesdays AND thursdays for when we are on spring break.

that's right, we're talking crafting bonanza!!

afterall, busy hands are happy hands. happy hands means happy kids. and happy kids, well that means a happy mama!

check out my craft thursday archive on facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=607451643&aid=184934

what makes you happy?

i heart coconut

dear coconut,

i heart you. you make my life happy. you taste amazing with chocolate and almonds and pineapple and well, *gasp* naked! when i use your oil in my cooking, i am getting many nutritional benefits, as well as great tasting food. but my favorite thing about you is your milk.  besides being in some rather yummy thai dishes, it is used to make ice cream! ice cream that has no dairy and no soy. ice cream that i can eat and have missed sooooo much since being dairy free. ice cream that i couldn't wait until after dinner to scarf down... i had to secretly open and eat behind the refrigerator while the kids ate lunch. yes, coconut, i heart you!

love, me

coconut bliss non-dairy dessert in cappuccino, naked almond fudge, and coconut pineapple. i've sampled all three and can't decide which is best! better go try them again...

what do you think you'd miss most if you were on a restricted diet?