Belated Birthday Wishes

I love the month of July.

Not the sticky heat of summer or the mosquito laced nights that July brings, but the reverent and patriotic feeling for the country that I love that garners the hearts, homes, and streets of our nation.

And in Ben's case, his face.

Happy Birthday America!

 I'm a little late, but better than never.

Thanks to Jason at Backroads Photography for the idea of such a fun photo shoot and, of course,  for sharing the fantastic images captured from it.

Family Friend

Our family has a special friend. He has been considered a part of our family since the Christmas of 1999. He has accompanied us on many family vacations, various special events, and even a random shopping trip or two. But mostly he is just there during, and yes, sometimes an accomplice to, the day to day mayhem that is the Parke household.

At times he has been a friend to one child more than another, but only because they needed him more right then. Currently, he has become a sort of sidekick for Benjamin. Heck, he practically spent every day in pre-school with him last year and has had the opportunity to get in a few Kindergarten lesson this year as well. It is a relief for me to know that someone can be there when Mom & Dad can't.

He's never intrusive, just supportive, while sporting a pleasant expression on his face, quietly watching from the sidelines. Yep, stalwart, silent, supportive, and I might as well add "stuffed" because as you can see our special friend is Bear, a big brown fuzzy teddy bear.

So when I tucked Ben into bed the other night and he whispered to me that the next day was Bear's birthday, I couldn't say no to throwing our good and loyal friend a surprise party.

Now you may think it is silly to throw a party for a child's favorite stuffy, but I think that this smile is worth all the silliness in the world. Don't you?

Plus, I'll use any excuse to indulge in some fabulous chocolate cake any day.

Why Do We Spend The Money?

As a parent it is natural to want to provide well for your child. You want to provide them with comfortable basics and some of the frivolous wants you weren't fortunate to have as a child. You work hard to give them what they need and worry that you aren't providing enough or the right things. But then you experience your first child's Christmas when they play more with the wrapping and box than the actual toy that came in it and you learn a valuable lesson and ask yourself, "Why do we spend the money?"

I found myself asking this very question last night as I went in to make a final check on the boys and found this...

Why spend money on a comfortable bed and mattress when a cheap cardboard box will do?

Suck-ah!

Who's the bigger sucker, me or the actual lollipop?

I'm sure the dentist will answer that question at our next check up.

What I Learned in Kindergarten...

On Tuesday, Ben started Kindergarten and I guess technically, I did too.You see, Ben was really excited to finally be able to call Amelia Earhart his school, just like his brothers do. He has been waiting for and was completely ready to finally start Kindergarten. I didn't even get emotional dropping him off on his first day because I was so happy that he was finally getting what he wanted. Well, that and the fact that I stayed the entire time.

Walking to school with the brothers.

Why did I stay the entire time when I had a boy who didn't make a fuss or cry at the prospect of me leaving? Why didn't I leave when I could have enjoyed 3 hours tackling my list of "Things to do once the kids are in school"? The reason is because as a friend and I were getting ready to leave, we noticed 28 little bodies filled to the brim with anxious excited energy that the first day of school, let alone the first day of kindergarten brings. We also noticed the teacher doing her best to field parent's questions while trying calm the separation anxiety of a few of them too, while attempting to contain all of that anxious excited energy into a civilized classroom of learning- by herself.

Needless, to say this is a daunting task for even the Superhero-est of seasoned educators like Mrs. Thibault.

Superhero Mrs. Thibault

Luckily, Richard was home and willing to watch Emma, so I was able help along with my friend, Rachel. I would describe the rest of the day as organized chaos. It took all 3 of us and a Foster Grandparent who came to help to wrangle those 28 little bodies through all the activities of the morning. It was thoroughly exhausting. But I can't wait to help out again.

And you might think that Kindergarten is too elementary for an adult, but experiencing it for a second time around, there was still plenty of education to be had. These are a few of the things I learned;

- A party where the majority of the presents are Kleenex, glue sticks, and Ziploc bags is oddly still  really exciting.
- Actually getting the cupcake with pink frosting dams a flood of tears and makes a lot of things right with the world again to a 5 yr old girl.
- Even though a story was told about pigs, snails, fish, and cats going to school, acting like a chipmunk while you are in school is not acceptable. (This one's for you, Rachel :)
- When you're a Kindergartner you can wear 2 completely different shoes to school and it's apparently okay.
- Those shoes can even be 2 different sizes.
- Kindergarten teachers should go straight to heaven for all of the shoelaces they have to tie in the space of 3 hours.
- Bible names were really popular for baby boys in 2004 & 2005.
- Even though you may have a named your son a conservative Bible name, it does not guarantee that he will have Christ-like behavior.
- Riding the bus is kind of a really big deal when you are 5.
- The phrase "pockets, pretzels, basket" has nothing to do with food. Bummer.
- You have snack time a half an hour before you go home and your mom attempts to feed you something nutritious.
- I was not meant to be a Kindergarten teacher.
- I am really glad there are people who are- like Mrs. Thibault.
- No matter how old I or Ben will ever get, it is still the best when Daddy and Emma come to pick us up.

I think Ben's face and skip say it all- Kindergarten is awesome.

This Interruption Was Brought to You By....

This 2+ week interruption Of a View from the Parke Bench was brought to you courtesy of the last week of school and the first week of summer vacation.

Events worthy of being too busy to post included;

-Benjamin's Pre-School graduation. He was beyond ready to move on from pre-school and is excited to start kindergarten in the fall. I, his mother, am really excited too. I think his pre-school teacher was ecstatic.



Dallin's acting debut in his class play/musical titled the "Three Piggy Opera". He played the part of one of the very nervous and shy straw peddlers.

As you can see he was a complete natural.



-Ashton's class award presentation where he received an award for making it into the "Foot Hall of Fame". To make it into the "Foot Hall of Fame," one must read as many books that are at least 120 pages as your foot is tall. And for a 5th grader whose feet are bigger than his mothers that is quite a feat. No pun intended.


The first week of summer;

-Memorial Day found us up north visiting with family, barbecuing, and sitting around the campfire. We made S'mores and a mess with these gigantic marshmallows that were about 4 times the size of a normal one.
They were awesome. Can you tell?

-Pedicures in the backyard. I did Emma's and she did mine. She gives a new definition to 'Glitter Toes'.

-A new chore system. Like anything new this is taking some getting used to and called for the resurrection of the "Nazi Mom".

(Sorry, no pictures are available because she ain't pretty.)

-Lessons in getting dressed by ourselves. These lesson include, but are not exclusive to the correct appendages in which underwear are applied.

(Note- If you are ever in need of a straight jacket try inserting the offending child's arms into the underwear and wrapping them around the shoulders. It works pretty well. I am considering this trick for all 4 children on our upcoming vacation.)

-Simply enjoying summer with my friends. Four of the best you'll ever meet.

Thank you for your patience. Regular posting, which is usually irregular at its best, will now resume into your regular blog reading which obviously, is already in progress. 

*Sorry about all the camera phone pictures, but I figured bad pictures were better than no pictures at all.

My camera is having issues with its shutter and is currently awaiting surgery at the camera hospital. No need to fret, if by some unfortunate circumstance he does not return, a replacement is already on its way.  

Definitely Devilishly Handsome

Do you remember this photo?

Doesn't that oozing ooey gooey chocolate grin just make you want to squeeze those cheeks and kiss that nose dappled with freckles?

Okay...maybe not.

The result may not be very pleasant or cute. But you do have to admit that kid is charming, even if it is in a devilish sort of way.

Right?

Well, now that you've admitted it, you can let the rest of the cyber world know how devilishly handsome you think Ben is by clicking HERE and voting for him in a contest by Backroads Photography.  You can even let them know multiple times since you may vote once a day up until Sunday, May 30th at midnight.

Thank You from Ben and me.

*And I promise that I will enter no more contests or ask for your help or participation in any way for a nice long while...or until there is another great contest to try to win.*

Dreams and Nightmares

Easter morning Ashton woke up after having a dream about owning a turtle with the desire and determination to have one of his own. Last Friday night, that dream came true since he had worked hard for and saved enough money to finally buy this Russian Tortoise.

Her name is Ricky; the short and feminine version of Richard, Ashton's dad. Can you tell my kids idolize their father?

I was not particularly fond of the thought of this purchase, but look at the smile on that boy's face? He even kissed her shell the other day when he took her school. Gross, I know. But how do you say "no" to a love like that? If you're a sucker like me, you don't....and you end up the co-owner of a turtle that will probably outlive you.

And this is where my nightmare begins. 

You can't have 4 kids and have only one of them get a pet. The others let out cries of unfairness and protest favoritism, so your husband takes them to the store and comes home with ...no not another turtle, but 3 goldfish and 2 very creepy arachnid-esqe crabs. I know it is probably just payback from all the birds, lizards, hermit crabs, and turtles that I as a girl tormented my own parents with. But fish? Why did they have to want fish? Really, is there any pet stinkier than fish?


Anyway, our aquatic family members have been dubbed Cocoa, Jason, and Chad (who as of yesterday, is now swimming in the greater waters above. YES! I mean...How sad). Ben's crab is named Anchor and Emma's is "Nice Crab" as she so lovingly calls it.
 

Within the space of 24 hours we went from being a one psychotic cat family to a seven blended pet family.

A horrific nightmare, indeed.

Now I have six five more strange, stinky, slimy, scaly, somewhat freaky, and helpless individuals to help take care of....

Okay, maybe it is do-able.

It's not too much of a stretch from having kids.

Just kidding...I really do love them.

The kids that is.

Ahhh, To Be a Kid Again...

This is just one of the many reason why I think it would be fun to be able to travel back in time and be a child again....

Laundry could be considered fun again......but unlike Ben, hopefully, I would retain some of my adult smarts and know better about wanting to stick my head into a functioning dryer.

Who knew a broken dryer could be so entertaining?

For them and me.

Spring Marathon: Easter

I don't know why they call it Spring "Break" because at our house it is never a break, it's more like a marathon. We just go and go until school starts again signaling our finish line. 
I have debated about how to record all of this because I want it for future family history and I have family members that keep up with us through blogs, but yet I hate to bore all of my friends with a travelogue. So I've decided to do it in parts and if you are bored all I can say is keep on scrolling... 

 Easter

Checking out their baskets.

Easter for our family was really simple this year. Life simply didn't allow time for anything else.  We didn't color eggs and the Easter baskets were simplified, although the kids still received enough candy to last them until Halloween. We didn't even attend any egg hunts, except for one on Easter morning in Grandma Jeanne's and Pop Marlin's livingroom. This room is not the ideal place for an egg hunt because it really has a lack of nooks & crannies that make great  places to hide plastic candy filled eggs. This made the whole Easter Bunny part of Easter very short, but that left the rest of the day to focus on the real reason we celebrate Easter.

Along with celebrating Christ's atonement and resurrection we did get to watch or hear all sessions of General Conference which led into a funny conversation with Dallin on our way to Goblin Valley that afternoon.

Dallin's finds.

Dallin- I wish Jesus was alive and living on the earth right now.
Mom- That would be cool, huh. But you know he will come again and we never know when, so we want to be trying to do what's right so that we can be counted among the righteous.
Dallin- Ashton makes that really hard.
Mom-  What's that?
Dallin- Trying to be righteous.
Mom- (fearing to ask) How?
Dallin- He does things to annoy me, so then I have to call him bad names.

Ashton & his loot

Those darn older brothers.....they're just gonna keep us from going to heaven because we have to call them  bad names!
You know, I kind of wish we could blame some of the not so good stuff on older brothers. Then when I reach the judgment bar I've got three of them to pawn stuff off on.

Maybe there is hope for me getting into heaven after all.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

Ben's new movies

Grandma Jeanne helping Emma find an egg the boys didn't get to first.

Emma happy with her 2 eggs.

Worn out after a successful morning.

A Baptism & Chocolate...or is it A Baptism by Chocolate?

On Saturday, our friends the Rubows, invited us to their son, Levi's baptism. Levi is quite the special kid and because of his sheer excitement at the prospect of being baptized coupled with his exclamation of "That was fun!" as he was raised out of the water, there was a sweet spirit in that room packed with friends and family that was undeniable. It was such a sweet feeling that I think many on looking eyes couldn't help but become damp at the grin that spread across Levi's innocent face. It was one of those moments you feel blessed to have been there to witness such complete joy.

Thank You Rubow Family, for allowing us to be part of such a great day.

Following Levi's baptism and confirmation, the Rubows also treated everyone to lunch- and man, did they put on a spread! Specifically so, because there really seemed to be quite an emphasis on the dessert course- my favorite...and apparently Benjamin's too.

It was our turn to dish our plates and even though Richard had a plate to fill  for Ben with lunch items such as the BBQ pork sandwhich, chips and veggies, Ben had his own plate and a different idea what his lunch should be.

He bypassed the lunch table and headed straight for the dessert table. Now, I'm not sure how it happened or who even dished it for him, but he wound up with a huge piece of Texas sheet cake, a gigantic slice of chocolate cake that could only be described as "Death by Chocolate," and a sliver of a chocolate cheesecake that filled the entire void of a 9 inch dinner plate! I think I gained 5 pounds just by looking at it!

He didn't even bother to get a fork or spoon, he just sat down and started licking! Fearing the onslaught of a "show me how the piggies eat" moment, I quickly got him a utensil and he proceeded to shovel chocolately dessert heaven into his mouth, but not before he got it on his chin, cheeks, nose and new Easter church outfit.

It was funny.

I have to admit, I should have been repulsed by his manners or lack there of, as I think the older lady who unfortunately had the misfortune of sitting across from us was, but I couldn't resist seeing the utter enjoyment on and all over his face.

We did give him a napkin and I wished I had captured his freckled face smeared with chocolate before it was wiped somewhat clean, but of course, I had left my camera at home. That's when I remembered seeing my friend Jason, there with a bag slung over his shoulder. Since he is a photographer and not exactly the type to carry around a man-purse, I was hoping that bag contained his camera and he would be willing to snap a shot of Ben for me. 

He readily obliged and even took a break from his own dessert to not only snap one shot, but a series of Ben eating his chocolate cake.

He even got him to grin so big that choclately goo was spilling out from where Ben's front teeth should be and between his lips- absolutely adorable!

Perhaps, it's a smile only a mom could love.... and perhaps not... because the unfortunate older lady was smiling too... until Ben regurgitated the chocolate mass back out onto the plate.

I guess it's time for a Family Home Evening on manners or we'll never be invited to eat in public again.

 Thank You to the man of many names- Jason, Mr. Z, or Backroads Photography photographer- for having my back and always being so willing to capture the moment.

Feelin' Lucky.

At first I thought it was a Leprechaun....

...Then I just realized it was my silly Mr. Ben with not a stitch of green to be found.

Not very lucky considering today is St. Patrick's Day.

Unlucky, unless you are me.

Because if you are me, you get to pinch that little mistaken Leprechaun all the day long.

And with that too long tousled hair, toothless grin, and just a hint of snow white legs sticking out between turquoise soccer shorts and one of a kind firefighter boots, who could resist?

I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

(This is was his outfit of choice which was decided upon while I was at the school collecting Box Tops, so I will not be held responsible. I like to think I have better fashion sense than that of a 5 yr old boy. Most days anyways.)

The Small Stuff

My husband is not a morning person. And since he is the other half that donated genetic material to our offspring, it is no wonder that half of our children are the same way. This equation makes the 9:00am church schedule virtually impossible to be on time to.

We try. We really do. It is even one of our family goals for the year with great rewards promised at the end...but we are failing.

Miserably.

Like today.
8:00- I am ready. I make the rounds softly speaking to all sleepy heads that it is time to get up and get ready for church and for Ashton: he needs to shower and now is the time to do it.
8:15- All church clothes are laid out, but there are no bodies awaiting them to clothe, so I make the rounds again, speaking loudly now, and gently shaking blanketed bodies. Frustration is setting in.
8:30- I have Emma ready and start getting her breakfast. Dallin is almost ready. There is no movement from the other bodies. I start speaking very loudly now, giving time frames, and urging them to get a move on.
8:45- Church bags are in the van. Dallin and Emma are ready to go.
8:46- I am yelling now and my frustration is increasing.
8:50- Ashton passes me in the hall on my way to dump Ben out of bed, he tells me he is heading for the shower. I tell him, "I won't be here when you get out because I got up and got ready on time and I am not going to be late."
8:51- I start to dress a 5 1/2 year old rag doll Benjamin amidst his protests and whines making me increasingly more & more frustrated.
9:01- We are late. And now I'm mad.
9:15- We arrive at church, sit in the foyer, and listen as we miss the last of the passing of the sacrament.

When we finally file in to take our seats in the overflow, I am hardly in the mood or have the spirit being in church requires. My foul mood is only increased by Ben's complaints that he is hungry. I probably not so nicely told him if he would get up when he was told to he could have had breakfast. But being the good mother I am, suspecting that this might happen, I pulled out the pretzels and Reese's Puffs in baggies I had packed. Realizing that this was the only food available he had a meltdown and proceeded to scold me for not bringing any bread for him. Perhaps, I'm not as good of a mother that I thought I was; I can't even get church treats right.

In the middle of his berating speech, Emma & Ashton spotted the Reese's Puffs, only Emma didn't want to share with Ashton. Trying to shut out Ben's incessant and scolding whine, I calmly tried to tell her that she needed to share them with Ashton. She didn't like this sharing idea, so in true 2 year old fashion, she swung her arm in a wide sweeping motion sending the cereal flying in a 4 foot semi-circle across the shiny gym floor starting at the base of my chair.

I had had it.

Richard looked at me and I looked back at him. I would pay money to be able to see the expression that was on my face.

Embarrassment, anger, defeat, frustration, or caution: volcano ready to explode. Whatever it was, Richard quickly took Emma away from me and out into the hall for a time out. One down.

But there was still Benjamin and that whine.

I wondered why I even came to church.

I tried to explain that the pretzels were all I had now and that I had come to church to listen to the speakers, not to hear him whine, so to please, for the love of Pete, STOP.

But the whine continued.

It continued through most of Sister Randle's testimony and then became spotty through Sister Giles. It was spotty enough that I heard Sister Giles testify that she knew that "Families are Forever".

Forever felt really long this morning. And frankly, not that tempting.
An eternity of whine about Wonder Bread?
No thanks. I think I will pass.

But then Brother Stephenson got up to the podium and I found my reason for being in church today. He talked about being overwhelmed with all the little things of life and finding perspective in the scriptures. He said that they helped him realize the big things that seem to matter so much now are really small in the scheme of things.

Kind of like this morning.

One really bad morning in the middle of so many other good things that my family provides for me is not worth wishing it all away. I was struck with the saying, "I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it."
So I've decided maybe forever sounding like a long time really is a good thing.

Just as long as there is no whine involved...

... and Reese's Puffs are still welcome.

Needs

After spending too long at our weekly girls night on Thursday, I came home and darkened the lights, locked the doors, put the cat away, and lay across the foot of my bed exhausted past the point of easy sleep. I inserted my ear buds to drown out the sound of Nick Jr.’s “Oobie,” which would occupy Emma’s attention until she drifted off to dreamland, and dialed up my most recent download on my iPod.

I just caught a snippet of this song on the radio that morning while dropping the boys off at school and it stirred something in me. So I went home and downloaded it, but I hadn’t had the time to really listen to it until I lay down to sleep that night.


As the lyrics swirled around in my head, I thought about;

My 11 year old who couldn’t go to bed until I was safely home. Making it a much later bedtime than a school night should be,

My sweet boy who went to bed with his newly lost tooth stuffed under his pillow counting on the Tooth Fairy to compensate him generously,

The boy, that earlier in the day, I was ready to sell while shopping at Wal-Mart, but who as night falls can’t sleep unless it’s in mom’s bed,

And my baby girl, who lately has a case of the "Me do it myself"-itis, still wants mom’s hand to hold as her eyelids grow heavy, finally, giving those beautiful brown eyes a much needed rest.

But as the song ended, I realized that even though I always tend to think it is me that they need, maybe it is really the other way around.

The Secret to GREAT Play Dough

Lately it seems like the blogging community has been doing "instructional" posts on how to make fabulous foods, so I thought... I like to follow the cool kids...I can be a follower... I don't want to be left out!

The only problem is that I don't make anything that I feel like is spectacular enough to demonstrate.

But yesterday, we made homemade play dough. Why homemade? Because like most things homemade, it is just simply better.

And you can make a ton of it.

And you can make it any color your little heart desires.

And it is a great way of teaching pre-schoolers about mixing primary colors to make secondary colors.

And you get to squish it between your fingers while making the top secret sound that makes great play dough...great!

The "chant".

I figure you can get a recipe for homemade play dough anywhere, but the "chant"... well...it has to be done just right for the colors to mix properly. Luckily for you, Ben happened to be performing the "chant" just right, so I grabbed the camera to document it and share our secret(& because I'm his mom and thought it was cute).

See... he even confirms it...When you do the chant it shows the color more and when you don't chant, it doesn't.

I told you I can't make anything food wise that is spectacular, so please, don't eat any. I think it would give you a terrible tummy ache and I don't want to be responsible for that.

Happy chanting.

The above link is to my friends awesome earth friendly blog and her recipe for Natural Play Dough, it doesn't include alum, which no one seems to have in their cupboards anyway.

But if you are interested, here is mine: Grandma Jeanne's Play dough

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup salt

3 TBSP oil

1 TBSP alum (you find it in the spice isle)

Food Coloring & the "chant".

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the oil to the water and gradually add it into the dry mixture while mixing. You can add the food coloring while mixing or wait until the dough has cooled and knead it in by hand. Store in airtight baggies in the fridge. Enjoy creating!

The Breakfasts of Champions

"You better eat your Wheaties!"

HA! Not at our house.

This morning as I roused Ben from a peaceful slumber, I asked the daily question...

“What do you want for breakfast?”

He sleepily asked, “What is there?”

Me- “Cereal…”

Ben- “What kind? Lucky Charms? (A boy after my own heart.)

Me- “No. Frosted Flakes, Trix, Cheerios, or Cocoa Puffs.

Ben- “No cereal.” (Grunted like a Neanderthal.)

So like a broken record I went through the other healthy (and not so healthy) options we had time for.

“Pop Tarts, granola bars, Nutrigrain bars, toast, waffles…”

Ben- “Do we have nuggets?”

Me- “You really want to eat nuggets for breakfast?!?” (I threw up a little in my mouth.)

He nodded and smiled his sweet toothless grin, so I went to make nuggets for breakfast.

As I opened the mega bag of Dino Nuggets their smell hit me and my gag reflex tempted the throw up again. I retrieved 4 objects of chicken-who-knows-what that had been ground up and mashed together to form cute little replicas of various dinosaurs… and I was nuking them in the microwave... for my child... for breakfast.

My mother would die, if she knew.

As I waited for them to finish heating I was musing about what weird kids I have, their food choices, and whether or not I should be reported to DCFS for actually letting them eat this stuff, when I briefly flashed back to a time when all I wanted were atypical breakfasts too.

In junior high my favorite thing for breakfast was whatever we had for dinner the night before. Shepherd’s pie, baked potatoes, spaghetti, ham & cheesy potatoes, and my favorite leftover- chicken parmesan, were my breakfasts of choice. Then there was the period when I had onions topped with butter and salt cooked in the microwave every day before I caught the bus.

And I wondered why I didn’t have any friends.

Breakfast foods held no allure for me (unless, it was bacon, which was a sin at our house), so if there were no leftovers, mozzarella sticks dipped in peanut butter had to suffice.

When the beep of the microwave brought me back from my visit with breakfasts past, I decided that maybe food weirdness is genetic and I am actually to blame. So I took a deep breath, swallowed back the throw up, and proudly served Dino Nuggets for breakfast... with a smile.

Head Bangin' Birthday

(Ashton sang 'Happy Birthday' to me in sign language finished off with "clapping".)

Birthdays bring so many things. Not only do they bring another year to add to your timeline spent upon this earth, but hopefully, they add another year of wisdom from lessons learned and viewing the past year's challenges and blessings from different perspectives.

Yeah, I suppose that is mostly right.... But really it brings things like being remembered by friends and family, even obscure ones I haven't spoken to in years, who wish me birthday happiness through the power that is Facebook.

It also brings really long phone calls from Nebraska and Missouri and the chance to catch up with  two of my favorite girlfriends.

It brings fabulous gourmet cupcakes from the Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery delivered my another two of my favorite girlfriends who insist that I eat them all by myself, no sharing with my hubby or children- those were mine and only mine. What great friends and cupcakes.

It brings lunch at Bajio with my hubby who so kindly shared his lunch with Ben, so I could enjoy my shrimp tacos by myself. I love that guy.

It brings the kindness of marvelous neighbors who watched my kids, so Richard and I were able to take in the new flick "Sherlock Holmes," which I loved and think you should all see if you haven't already.

It of course, brings presents...

Birthdays on occasion also bring unexpected surprises too...

Like chairs that had been put on the table so I could mop the floor, but fell off....

breaking into pieces, along with Mr. Ben

and his head, which could have probably used a stitch or two. But from previous experience with stitches and Ben, we decided to avoid them if at all possible.

And like Ashton, (who was not available for a photo op.) who ran down the upstairs hall like a freight train, knocking the playroom door into the wall, causing a decorative oil lamp sitting on a shelf  that was hanging on said wall to become unstable and fall- squarely on the top of his head. Luckily, there was no blood, but he did receive a nice goose egg and the determination that something is trying to kill him.

I guess the great blessing among the head banging is that we got away without any stitches on my birthday. But along with blessings, I guess there are still lessons to be learned and wisdom to be gained for me, so the guidance I'm taking from my birthday now past is:

#1- Do not mop the floor nor do any other house work for that matter on my birthday.

#2- Inform Richard we need to redecorate the playroom since the decor in there now (which I am a little tired of) seems to be conveniently hazardous to our children's health.

Such hard lessons to live by...

A Thanksgiving Leftover

On the way home from our Thanksgiving weekend Ben treated us to this little serenade. No matter how many times we heard it, how out of tune it may have been, or if the words weren't exactly right, it still brought a smile to my face and reminded me that even after a less than stellar holiday, I am a blessed woman with much to be grateful for.

So tonight before the giving thanks of November ends and we head into the excitement that only the Christmas season can instill, I reflect on the performance of a sweet boy's favorite song and I give thanks.

I give thanks for a little spirit that is drawn to the truth of a particular song that teaches him who he truly is and why he is here.

And the part where he still thinks his parents are "kind and dear" is something to be grateful for too.

Predicting the Future

It seems everyone around me is excited for Christmas. Some of my friends are already listening to Christmas music (which I think is a sin, until after Thanksgiving) and one of my friends in Canada even has her tree up.

I am not there yet folks. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around Christmas this year and it's bugging me.  And then the fact that it's bugging me starts to bug me.

Maybe it's because Thanksgiving isn't even over yet; it is still in fact, a week away, and  my children are on their 2nd or 3rd Christmas lists already.
Or
Maybe it's because all my Christmas money is still tied up in a dedicated savings account waiting for its maturity date. That's got to be it... Shopping would definitely make me feel better...
Or
Maybe, it's because I have a cold; my head is foggy and my teeth even hurt, plus being snotty always makes me a little snotty.
Or
Maybe, it's because my hubby's supposed vacation time next week has gotten eaten up by a business trip, yet again...
Or
Maybe, it's because I am stressing over being asked to substitute and teach Relief Society this Sunday.  I haven't been in RS for how many years, let alone ever taught it, so I really hope the ladies in my ward like to play concentration and color pretty pictures to take home because that is the type of teaching I'm used to.

But there is one thing I am enjoying about the upcoming Christmas season; something a mother can never use to early in the year, but works particularly well with Christmas only a month a way- the phrase "Santa's elves are watching."
Even the most whiny, disobedient, and unruly child feels the power of that phrase- especially mine.  Call me evil, I don't care. A mom has to do, what a mom has to do, to get things done and the phrase is it.

So I unveiled the phrase the other day when I could no longer stand looking at the playroom that looked more like a war zone; complete with overturned furniture and all. Dallin and Ben were given their orders- clean the playroom and remember...Santa's elves are watching. They worked, but I didn't get up there to check it out until yesterday and I found it still needed a lot of work.

Dallin stayed home from school since he threw up during the night in his sleep...first off, before I go on, someone please tell me how that is possible?  How can you sleep through vomiting? Anyway, since he was feeling well enough to play soccer in my kitchen, I figured he was well enough to clean. So I herded them up to the playroom along with all of the phrases:

"It won't take that long."

"You'll feel so good once it's done."

 "Daddy will be so surprised to see it clean when he gets home."

 And of course,

"And remember, Santa's elves are watching."

I opened the toy room closet and found this from the previous cleaning attempt...

If Santa's elves are watching, I predict coal in two boy's futures.

Not your mother's church music

Around our house on any given day there is music. This was even truer last week during "Turn Off the T.V. and Get a Life Week". There was a lot of listening going on in the Parke household. Unfortunately, it was mainly of just a few songs- over and over and over and over... My kids really know how to ruin a good song for me. It had gotten so bad that this morning, I told a friend I thought I felt like I was going to gouge my eardrums out if I heard "Fireflies" one more time. But in all honesty, I can't complain too much because when I was able to gain control of the music choices my family most likely had to endure listening to my current favorite song also. So I guess we are even.

As much as we love our contemporary music, on Sunday, they are given the day to rest and we cue up the 'Church Music' playlist. 296 songs and over 20 hours of music takes good care of us on Sunday and most of the time puts us in the right frame of mind fitting for the day. Most of the time...

A few months ago, we came home from church and I began making Sunday dinner. True to form, I turned on my laptop, opened iTunes, clicked on 'Church Music' and hit the play button... and Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er" started playing. Not exactly the Kenneth Cope or Afterglow type music I was expecting.

I knew I had clicked on the right play list, but I double checked to be sure. Sure enough I had the right playlist, but ‘Church Music’ had been added to by about 100 songs that were definitely not church music. I figured that either my playlists got crossed somehow or church music had really changed in the last week. Anyway, I spent a good hour moving all the non-Sabbath worthy songs and forgot about the incident until about a month ago.

With Benjamin in pre-school he has learned his ABC's and a month ago that was his favorite song. He would sing it over and over and over and over... I was experiencing the same eardrum gouging symptoms I have been having lately. Figuring that distraction was my best line of defense against the never ending ABC song, and since our Primary program was about a week away, I decided to download all the Primary songs we would be singing into a playlist. It was pure genius. We could practice and learn the songs we desperately needed to and hear the ABC’s sung in different keys, tempos, and expressions- as cute as they were, a little less.

When I told Ben what I was planning to do, he sat excitedly waiting for the songs to download. They finished and I clicked play… and “Don’t Tread on Me” by Metallica started playing.

I don’t think I have ever moved as fast as I did right then to stop that song from playing any longer.

Ben was wide eyed and at a loss of what was going on and questioned why I stopped the music. You try explaining to a 5 year old why we can’t sing Metallica songs for the Primary program… It’s not so easy.

So I checked the playlist and sure enough it had happened again; non Primary songs had been moved into the Primary playlist. I was getting a little miffed at iTunes about now, but you know what, it sure made me take a good look at and think about the music I have downloaded. Still, I had no idea what was going on with iTunes or why this kept happening.

But I have a theory.

I will tell you, but only….if you promise not to laugh.

My computer is possessed.

Back in high school I had this boyfriend who listened to the above mentioned group that begins with a ‘M’ and ends in ‘etallica’ and after spending much time with this boy, I grew to like a few of their songs. These songs just happen to be those which I downloaded, right before this iTunes music switching happened.

Call me paranoid, but now these songs sit unchecked as not to be played in one of my 'less active' iTunes playlists.

Just for the record, I would just like to report that the Primary program ended with out any strains of Metallica from the mouth of my son, but don't worry he had plenty of other irreverent and embarrassing behavior to frustrate me with.

So in the end, since I am now a mother and must be forced to grow up and cast off my bad habits, I guess that some things really should stay back in the glory days of high school… right along with old boyfriends.