NARRATING THE CAMERA ROLL.....

The mid-bulldog shot is a CLASSIC.  Here we are enjoying dinner at Pizza Express last week!

Just another morning in the Parkinson house.  Scrambled eggs and Santa hats!

This adorable little bag was left in my classroom the other day.  I REALLY, REALLY wish it was forgotten forever because I love it and wish it were MINE!

Convenient little "peanut butter to go" pods purchased at the grocery store this weekend!  You can bet I looked forward to enjoying it on my first off period today!!!

One of the perks of international teaching - yummy chocolates from Finland!  Imagine my surprise this afternoon when my student handed this gift to me with the words, "miss I am sorry that this gift is coming to you early."  HAAAA!!!!  If she only knew!

Two of the best gifts of all right here.  It's such a delight to happen upon the two of them reading together in the living room :)

And some more Daddy-Daughter AMAZING-NESS.  Watching "Planes" with a "Planes" character.  They are so darling.

Mirrors + babies = good times.  I think this activity lasted for 20 minutes (YEARS in baby time)!!!

HAPPY DECEMBER 7!

Remember me talking about the joy of making your own advent activity calendar?  How you can choose to stick to the activity mentioned, alter it as you please, or get rid of it completely?  Well, today was one of those days where the follow-through of the activity wasn't precisely as described.

You see.....we've made arrangements with St. Nick to come on my birthday (the 19th) rather than on Christmas Day.  (I know what you're thinking - best birthday EVAAAA!!!!).  We leave for Copenhagen very early on the 20th and it has been discussed that sometimes Santa has difficulty accessing hotel rooms around the world.  You know how security is these days!  So, because Christmas is happening a little bit early - on my birthday to be precise - Phil told me today that my birthday could come a little bit early too!  So, although we DID in fact do some Christmas shopping (the proof is in the picture above), we also did some BIRTHDAY SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!!  I really didn't need any presents because Christmas on my birthday is already a DREAM COME TRUE!  I will try to post a picture of my gifts later today :)

In regards to the REAL Christmas Day, Santa remarked that stockings are a possibility.......(he's such a crowd pleaser!). 

HAPPY DECEMBER 6!

Conveniently on this advent day, we were invited to a "Middle School Science Christmas/Dessert Party" last evening.  And because my science colleague is married to the KG principal, Emily was also invited to join in the fun!  YAHOO!  I immediately thought to make "cake balls" - a staple dessert in other gatherings attended/hosted by Emily and myself - and decided to pursue it for real even though Emily was unable to come over and be the co-baker. 

I learned a serious lesson here.

Cake balls are WAY more difficult when your 30 year old cake-ball-companion is exchanged for a 10-month-old-that's-not-so-much-an-assistant.  I think the entire process took me four hours to complete and I wasn't overly holly-jolly throughout.  I'm certain that Phil heard some choice words coming from the kitchen and I burned about four fingers from start to finish.  Making matters worse was the deadline I had to get them done and every time I looked at the clock, my anxiety levels skyrocketed.

Whatever.

They got done.  They aren't the most aesthetically pleasing cake balls around, but they were equally as tasty which was the most important thing....right?   

On the way to the party, I remember feeling exhausted and very ready for it to be bedtime (ha!!!!).  We stopped by the local grocery store to pick up a friend who was purchasing his dessert for the party.  His enthusiastic "HEY GUYS!" as he hopped into the backseat of the car made me realize just how brilliant he really is.  When it comes to holiday parties attended by parents, I'm fairly convinced that store bought goods are the way to go.  Criteria fulfilled and energy saved!  Win/win/win!!!! 

The party was super!  Arriving home to ZERO DISHES and a sleeping baby was also SUPER!  Have we mentioned how much we love Kumari lately?

HAPPY DECEMBER 5!

Nothing heals an aching mama's heart like holiday music!!!!!! 

No other picture for this day.  Let's be honest here - singing is like eating and nobody likes awkward pictures of either event.  I suppose I could have taken a video instead, but as the lead vocalist of the house, I had my doubts that you would see the Idol that exists inside of me (Wii Champion, 2008).  Nonetheless, we enjoyed singing along to Christmas albums by Micheal Buble (or "Boobles" as Phillip calls him) as well as the cast of Glee.  Nory got her groove on and threw in a few "ga-ba-da's" too.  I'm currently trying to teach her that CHRISTMAS MUSIC has a little extra pizaz that regular music just doesn't have.  I get the feeling she understands completely ;)

Which holiday albums does your family listen to?  I'm looking to expand our collection!!!

Friends tell friends about similar child-injury incidents.

And I thank these people SO, SO much!!!!!!!!!

The good news, too, is that all of the children injured in these aforementioned stories are alive and well today.  Phewfff. 

Nory woke up with a small bruise on her forehead and a big smile on her face.  It seems that all has been forgotten.  I think she still loves her mama and we played an epic game of tag around the house this morning.  (I confess it was not the most carefree game of tag you have ever seen.  A little bit - or a lot - of paranoia was in the air.....)

Two weeks today until we fly to Copenhagen!  I wonder what it's like to child-proof a hotel room.  Ha!  Because I was quick to disagree with homeschooling Nory, I'm pretty sure Phil will NOT be on my side when I merely suggest wrapping our daughter in bubble wrap and placing a perma-helmet on her head..........

Stories from Mamahood.  Congrats to all of you who make it look so easy! xo

HAPPY DECEMBER........(DELAYED).

Tonight while Phil was at his soccer match, Nory fell and hit her head on the side of the spare bed.  It was HORRIBLE - all CAPS.  She hardly ever cries and the cry that resulted from this collision was more-than-heartbreaking.  Ugh.  I feel sick just thinking about it.  I feel SO BAD that the whole thing happened and I feel even worse that I was sitting right beside her when it did.  SERIOUS MOM GUILT has set in (and has been lingering ALL EVENING).  It isn't pretty. 

Who's the Mommy here?

Looks like she's going to have a bruise on the forehead, but the good news is she was all smiles about ten minutes following the incident.  In fact, she was crawling around and pulling herself up on anything she could - including the bed that she smashed into in the first place!  The cold cloth/ice pack didn't so much end up on her bump but rather in her mouth and swirling around in the air.  She also offered it to me a few times.  One of us DIDN'T stop crying after ten minutes.......(I'm guilty!!!!).

Running through my mind now are the following thoughts:

1)  What if she got a concussion?
2)  How massive is that bruise going to be in the morning?
3)  There's no way I can sleep tonight without worrying about her.
4)  I'm the worst mom ever.
5)  So much for today's advent.

You will have to stay tuned for December 5th's family activity.  Lucky you - TWO in ONE DAY tomorrow!

XOXO 

He's gonna have to deal with the boys.

Ice painting in Christmas colours earlier this week.....

A conversation from this evening.....

Phil:  I think we should home-school Nory.

Lindsay:  What?!

Phil:  Yes, home-school her....even for college....then I don't have to worry about boys.

Lindsay:  Phil.  We're NOT home-schooling her.  In my experience, home-schooled kids are weird.

Phil:  They are weird.  But at least she would be OUR weird kid!!!!

HAPPY DECEMBER 4!

The joy of making your OWN advent calendar is having the right to make adjustments as needed.  We swapped jammies for hoodies and enjoyed a family walk also!  (And before you go thinking about how romantic this all was, remember that we had to dodge stray cats, smelly dumpsters, random syringes and wild drivers en route to the Starbucks.  It is, though, the THOUGHT that counts!)

Family snap in the elevator!

Safe at home in the playroom :)

HAPPY DECEMBER 3!

We took the "actions speak louder than words" approach......

I am a constant "WHY DON'T THEY PUT THEIR NAME ON IT?!" complainer.

For real.  It drives me insane when students leave their work NAME-LESS.  Especially because I have 85 students.  Especially because there is a particular spot on every handout for their name.  Especially because I GIVE THEM TIME to write their name.  And ESPECIALLY because I RE-REMIND them to write their name prior to the submission of ANYTHING.

You can imagine, then, how much my day was MADE when I found this sitting on my desk:

Besides making me laugh, I wonder if posting this sign by my classroom inboxes will do any good.  I have been thinking about other Beyonce-inspired "DO NOT FORGET YOUR NAME!" signs that I could create, too.  The following lines come to mind:

"IF I WERE A BOY.....I would put my name on it." 

"I'm CRAZY IN LOVE with people who put their name on their paper."

"I like the NAME ON TOP, yeahhhh kids!"

Haha.  Can you tell that I'm overtired?! 

GOODNIGHT PEOPLE! xo