This is what "pushing the boundaries" looks like in picture form...

1)  A child comes up with an idea.  The parent puts an end to the idea because of it's potentially dangerous and/or destructive side effects. 

2)  The child is inspired to perform their idea in an alternative space, reestablishing their initial desire.

3)  The child decides to go halfsies on their idea.  It's not completely what they pictured, but could be assumed as acceptable to their well-meaning guardian.

4)  The halfsies idea is a no-go.  Both parties attempt to reason with each other. 

5)  The adult returns from a brief second of distraction to discover a child beaming with pride - their feat accomplished, their calculations BANG-ON. 

6)  The adult hides any ounce of amusement and gives the child a look of disapproval.  The child decides to cover their face, well aware of its 100% success rate during hide and seek with Mom and Dad. 

So, friends.  How was your day?

Do you have this much fun at breakfast?

Because if you don't, I suppose I should write you an invite!

Other things I want to share with you today:

1)  Scandal has returned!  OLIVIA POPE IS BACK!  The world feels right again ;)

2)  Yesterday on our walk to the store, Nory exclaimed, "You're so beautiful, Mama."  Em blogged about the other cute things she said HERE.

3)  Em and I have planned an "International Coffee Day" party for Tuesday after school.  There's your heads up in case you want to plan one too!

4)  I have revived my Fitbit and reached close to 14,000 steps yesterday.  Not because I was consciously moving about.  Not because I ACTUALLY worked out.  But because we have a crawler on our hands!  My built-in FAMILY FITNESS CENTER is back!!!!! 

5)  My friend Aimee is the most beautiful pregnant lady.  December is quickly approaching and I can't wait to welcome our little niece or nephew!!!

6)  Yesterday we got out the "FALL" bin and I am SO HAPPY!  All of our fall hand towels and candles and oven mitts and napkins have assumed their celebratory positions around the flat.  Come October, the Halloween decorations will also be unpacked.  I LOVE HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!  It's FALL, you guys!  It's ALMOST HALLOWEEN, you guys!!!  JETTIE'S FIRST HALLOWEEN! 

Just for fun, here are some pictures of Nory from her first Halloween:

Younger than Jet, but much more hair and a little more meat on the bones :)

We still have two more days of STAYCATION to go and, although we are choosing to do some work at school this morning, we have baking and courtyard fun on the agenda this afternoon!

Wishing all of you a beautiful, autumn Saturday :) XOXO

My Mini-Phil is SERIOUSLY ON THE MOVE!

In the past week, Jet has really upped her ACTION game.  She's mastered her eyebrow-raising, crab-like crawl and has recently introduced other gettin' around strategies including the "mobile downward dog".  The latter freaks me RIGHT OUT because all I can envision is her getting tired or losing her balance and crashing head-first into our tile floors.  Alas, she INSISTS.  The girl is determined to go wherever her arms and legs can take her... 

Following is a picture of Juliet getting into the aforementioned MOVING downward dog formation.  Please note that there is no picture (and there will never be ANY pictures) of her doing the full-fledged, downward dog crawl - not on this blog, nor in my computer's iPhoto program.  When I see her transition to "set-up mode", I break into a sweat, put the camera away, and assume the role of "professional spotter".  Paranoia is my preferred style of parenting ;)

 In better news, she's also taken to climbing!

Don't get me started on the tv stand.  Or the treadmill.  Or to all of the high places that the cat tends to frequent.  (Please note there are ALSO no pictures of these scenarios either.  Climbing on the couch is as RISK-TAKING as I get.)

Sigh.

One bump on the head and counting.....

"Mom, I need a HUGGLE!"

Nory came up to me this afternoon, saying this very thing.  Turns out a "huggle" is a hug AND a snuggle, ALL IN ONE.  Hence the term: HUGGLE.  I'm curious as to where she got this from.  My guess would be Henry Hugglemonster, but who knows! 

I was unable to photograph our very first huggle, but the following pictures will give you an idea of what, exactly, it means to "huggle."

It's sitting out weather.

Really, it is.  

It FINALLY is!

Not necessarily because it's any cooler, however.  Rather, we don't seem to be creative enough to occupy THE NORNADO indoors any longer.  We've thrown in the "play inside all day" towel.  We've embraced the sweat mustache, stinky feet and multiple baths per day.  We've officially declared it COURTYARD SEASON!!!!!!!!!  

Ha.  Ha.  Ha.

So, after playdoh and colouring and dollhouse and lego towers, our holidays have been spent sandboxing and toy-tubbying and arts-and-crafting in the great outdoors!

I've gotta say the whole declaration has been rather freeing.  Now I'm sweating because it's DARN HOT outside, not because I can't figure out how to re-introduce an old (indoor!) game with pizzazz.  Also, Nory is so much calmer in the sandbox.  If you didn't know, this sandbox is actually a MASSIVE ZEN GARDEN in disguise ;)

Right now, it seems we have the courtyard pretty much to ourselves.  I wonder if other parents have more tolerance for children-going-crazy-indoors than we do.  Hmmm.

"I don't know if it's because the camera on my phone is broken OR if it's because neither of my kids ever stop moving."

This is what I told Gem the other day as I scrolled through my phone's camera roll in frustration.  It seemed as though EVERY SINGLE PICTURE of the girls (basically) was a total blur and I was convinced that I'd never have solid photo evidence of their going-on's ever, ever again. 

Some say that I'm dramatic.

Anyways.

I dusted off the ole Nikon, charged up the battery, reset the date and time preferences, and went to work.  I suppose I should keep that sucker out for the next little while................

If the days are a BLUR, the pictures better not be ;)  Or at least that's my belief!

Thank you, Dear Nikon.  I owe ya!

I'm not sure how I never knew this, but I think it's going to blow your mind too.

Let's talk Starbucks lattes.

Every time I go to Starbucks, I stand in line and so badly WANT to be one of those people who orders a latte without hesitation.  One of those people who confidently pays for the beverage of their choice (a latte!) without any second-guessing or regrets.  The type of person who can say things like "sure, I'd love a latte!" or "yes, let's go grab a latte!" with a straight face, totally genuine. 

But it's simply never the case.

Instead, and even after the "you can do it!" pep talk, I stick with a "tall, American with cold milk" as though I'm the most boring person around.  As if I have no idea that I can walk to the next coffee franchise and order the same thing at a much more reasonable price.  As if I've never been to Starbucks in my life and don't know how to go about ordering anything fancier.    

But the real truth is this:  I SIMPLY CANNOT HANDLE THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR IN A LATTE.

A Starbucks latte, to me, is like drinking liquid sugar.  And, among other things in life, it used to be one of the things I was bold enough to do.  I could pound back a latte with the best of 'em ;)  But now.......at ALMOST-THIRTY.........after two babies....going on 8 years of teaching......I'm all about the CAFFEINE and so NOT about the SUGAR.

But yesterday.  YESTERDAY!  I learned something revolutionary.

Did y'all know you could request a lower number of "PUMPS"?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My first PSL of the season!

It all started when the "pumpkin spice latte" hype hit Kuwait last week.  Em wrote me with the good news and I responded with an excitement level to match.......along with some contradicting words.  I told Em that I actually hate PSLs, but I always have at least one per season to bring me closer to home.  They are DISGUSTINGLY sweet and I suck it up for the sake of autumn and autumn-induced homesickness ONLY.  But I don't actually enjoy it.  (Yes, I know I'm a total weirdo.)

Then, through another friend, Emily learned that you can make a special request to have your PSL less sweet by asking for a fewer number of "pumps."  Of course I had to try it immediately and, without any hesitation at all, I asked the barista for a PSL with ONE PUMP instead of the designated THREE.

One sip and my life was forever changed.

I'm telling you guys, it was the perfect hint of "autumn" that I've craved all these years!  THE. PERFECT. HINT.  And I am gosh-darn FLOORED that I didn't know about this before.  Especially after living for SIX YEARS in a country with - what MUST BE - the greatest number of Starbucks locations ever.

#mindblown #spreadtheword

It wasn't part of the plan, to get a cat.

The plan was to get a dog.  Eventually.  Years from now.  And name him "Zeppelin".

But instead we got a cat.  Last Friday.  And his name is BEN.

I guess you could say that LIFE HAPPENS.

Some of you are shocked because our personal viewpoints about these feline creatures do not match the act of getting a pet cat.  And you're right.  THEY DO NOT.  In case you weren't already aware, here are the cat-based opinions of the Parkinson house ADULTS.  The so-called "decision makers" of the family...

ME

Ever since my family housed a psycho-cat named Mush, I have been 100% anti-cat.  Then my bestie became a cat person and that made me hate cats even more.  What do you mean you need to go home and hang out with your cat?  What do you mean your cat was "playing" with you by leaving scratch marks on your arms?  What do you mean your iPad is broken because your cat knocked it off the table and you're not even mad about it?  So, yes.  I've been ANTI-CAT like you don't even know.

PHIL

Phil's allergic to cats.  That summer we set up camp in my parent's basement?  In the presence of Mush hair?  Not our finest.  Phil thought he was going to die from his allergy symptoms and I thought I was going die of sleep deprivation resulting from listening to Phil's allergy symptoms.  Also, if you've ever seen a man with a stuffy nose, you know 2 months of that nonsense is sure to leave a scar on any marriage ;)

But then there's Nory.  The ever-enthusiastic, extra-passionate, all-in-or-totally-out daughter of ours.  Her viewpoint is totally opposite.

Nory LOVES cats.  You may recall the cat party Emily planned for Nory's second birthday.  Or perhaps you've seen the plethora of cat toys/shirts/dresses/books we have at our house.  Or perhaps you've heard Nory go on and on about cats in conversation.  And, to be honest, I should scratch the "perhaps" because y'all know the girl's OBSESSED.  When you pop by our house with cat nail decals or cat-sitting gigs for Nory, we know YOU KNOW.

And then there's Jet.  The easy-going, always-smiling, whatever-you-think-mama daughter of ours.  

Now that you know where we all stand in the cat department, let me tell you that we didn't actively seek out a cat.  A series of circumstances welcomed Ben into our home.  

Allow me to explain:

1)  There are many cats that roam about on our school campus and, I'm not sure who does it, but there is a kind soul who leaves them little piles of cat food so that they don't go starving.  Well, due to health and safety issues, a "no feeding the cats" rule has been implemented at school and the staff was told they should take a cat home if they wanted to continue feeding them.

2)  There was one cat that we saw every day as we walked to our classrooms.  This particular cat developed quite the reputation on campus and he often hung out inside the library, helping the librarian with check-outs or cuddling with students at the computer stations.  He would also weasel his way into elementary classrooms, disrupting the learning process with his friendly visits.

3)  The librarian was unable to take this cat home (since he has two cats of his own), but he wanted to make sure this one-of-a-kind animal found a safe place to live.  He started advertising the cat around the school community and, although everyone commented on how much they adored the wee thing, most people were pet owners already and couldn't bring the cat home.  So people started offering what they could instead.  They offered free rides to the vet.  Cat trees.  Litter boxes.  Cat carriers.  Food.  Water dishes.  Money to assist with the initial vaccinations.  Clearly, this cat was a very loved animal.

4)  Since Emily moved into our building, our visits to her house have been enjoyed without any allergy-suffering from Phil.  We started thinking that Phil is only allergic to certain cats and perhaps.....just maybe......this school cat could find a home in OUR HOME!

5)  We arranged to have a formal meet and greet with the cat (and the librarian), where we agreed upon a "one week trial" to see how Phil's allergies would respond to the cat in our home.  We were super excited to come back to school on the weekend and go on a "cat hunt" with the girls.  Although, that lasted all of TWO SECONDS because the cat was so friendly that he ran right into the cat carrier....

So much for the "cat hunt" I built up on the ride to school....

6)  What you don't know is that, deep down, Phil is a big animal lover and we hadn't even drove through the security gate before Phil remarked, "Well we can't get rid of him now.  I already like him!"  Luckily his allergies haven't acted up because Phil is Ben's biggest fan.

After Nory.

And Jet.

OMG.  We have a cat, you guys!  

Not a dog.

A cat.

And his name is Ben.