How fast are your weekends?

It never really occurred to me that weekends go by at any speed other than TOO FAST.  Same with holidays.  And summertime.  It all flies by and my usual response to anyone who asks how any of those things went is "good, but TOO FAST."

Well.

It was brought to my attention the other day that this is not the case for everyone.  Some people have weekends that go by TOO SLOW.  And these people want nothing more than for the work week to start back up and ROUTINE-THEM back to life.

Interesting perspective, isn't it? 

The conversation reminded me of two key things:

1)  Be kind.  You never really know what someone else is going through.
2)  I am so thankful for the fullness that accelerates my Fridays and Saturdays.  Family and friends, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! xo

The three who make my weekends disappear in the blink of an eye...

On that note, if you ever find yourself in a SLOW SPELL, please give us a HOLLER!  
Sending love here, there, and everywhere else :) XO

Life Lessons (MAYBE?) from FINLAND.

If you watched TSN religiously during the World Junior Hockey Tournament, you probably recognize the boys/men/boys-on-their-way-to-becoming-men featured in the picture below.  And even if you are someone who happens to be NOT A CANADIAN, you will - from this point forward - remember these characters forever and ever.  Because an image of six shirt-less men in tiny gold shorts with crazy hats and fanny packs is NOT something that is easily forgotten...

Anyways, since we were going to see these hooligans at all of the games, we decided to call them THE NAKEY-NUDEYS (a term we use at our house when someone has no clothes on).  Nory was really confused upon our first (and second and third and fourth) nakey-nudey sighting, curious as to why these guys weren't wearing any clothes.  I remember brainstorming some possible scenarios with her.....

Maybe they just had a bath.  Maybe they lost their clothes.  Maybe they were feeling hot.  Maybe Santa brought them new undies and red markers and funny hats INSTEAD OF clothes.        

As a fan of covering up, Nory didn't quite understand them or what they were thinking.  Which is why we were so shocked at yesterday's mention of her career aspirations.

Yesterday, during Tubby (bath) #1 of the day, Nory lit up with a big smile and shared with us (TOTALLY OUT OF THE BLUE) that she wants to be a "NAKEY-NUDEY" when she grows up.

Yep.

A NAKEY-NUDEY!!!!

Since it is NOT every parent's dream for their daughter to grow up and attend hockey games half-naked, we're going to ASSUME that what she really learned from these six crazy men was this: 

Yes.  DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S WATCHING.  Plus all that inspirational "nakey-nudeys" as a metaphor type stuff that Nory is totally thinking but isn't quite capable of expressing at three years old.  You know, live life to the fullest.  Remember to HAVE FUN.  Be yourself.  Don't let others ruin your day. 

ALL THAT GOOD STUFF.  

Is probably what she was trying to say.  

When she told us that she wanted to grow up to be a "NAKEY-NUDEY." 

If I were a dishonest person...

1)  I'd put my Fitbit on Nory and/or Juliet and call it a day.  10,000 steps would be EASY PEEZY.

2)  I'd make a to-do list including ONLY THE THINGS that have already been accomplished.........days ago.  "Take down the Christmas tree" would not make the cut.  #pending

3)  I'd tell you that I have two coffees a day, MAXIMUM.  (Haaaa!)

4)  I'd tell you that I am NOT a cat person, just an owner of two cats.

5)  I'd tell you this is a picture of me at age 2 (and you might just believe me!).

6)  I'd tell you that I make my own bed.  #spoiled

7)  I'd tell you that I meditate and exercise.  No chocolate or crying whatsoever.   

8)  I'd tell you that my iTunes library has NOT A SINGLE Justin Bieber song in it.  He's lame.  I'm old.  Definitely not a belieber.

9)  I'd tell you that screen time is strictly limited in our house.  Netflix as a babysitter on-call?  NO FREAKING WAY.

10)  I'd tell you my phone has zero photos in the camera roll.  (#not6720)

Here's a visual of what we come home to every day.

You respect us A LOT more now, don't you?

Here's to KEY-ping it REAL ;)

Yesterday Kumari's keys to the house went missing.  And because she is a TOTAL SAINT, she didn't even suspect that Nory or Jet could have been the key culprit.  K-POP assumed it was herself and spent the day looking all over the flat for it, retracing her steps and trying to solve the missing key mystery.

Then today came along.  And it finally struck her that Nory MIGHT have an idea as to where the key might be.  So she asked her, "Nory, do you know where the key to the house is?"

HAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're gonna have to watch this one.  Which we knew.  But were once again reminded of.

BECAUSE.

BECAUSE!!!!!!!!!

Nory walked right over to a dining room chair, lifted it's cushion and pulled the key out.  Then she looked back at Kumari with a big grin and whispered, "it was right here, but don't tell anyone you know, okay?  HA, HA, HA!!!!"  (She did that last part in her deep, purposefully evil voice.)

SIGH.

THIS CHILD.

This SWEET, SWEET child of ours....

It's a real wonder she still has the key to our hearts!  ;)

We love you NORNADO, our WILD THING.  xoxo

"APPEARED"

That's Nory's new favourite word:  APPEARED.  She uses it WITHOUT FAIL in every single story she tells (multiple times a day), except for when you're on FaceTime with the grandparents, evidently.

NORY'S STORIES, USUAL VERSION

Nory:  Once upon a time there was a girl named Nory.  And then....a (witch/princess/prince/dinosaur) appeared!

NORY'S STORIES, GRANDPARENTS ON FACETIME VERSION

Nory:  Once upon a time there was a girl named Nory.  And she was SPOILED.

This coincidental deviation from what we hear one billion times a day came shortly after she told us "Christmas is over, Mom and Dad."  (Mmm hmmm...we are THOSE PEOPLE who still have their Christmas decorations up.  And The Nornado called us out on it.)  Basically, Nory's on the fast track to being UN-SPOILED ;)

Other things that happened this week:

1)  Phil's team played (and won!) their first basketball game.  Basketball season really is the most wonderful time of the athletic year :)

2)  A group of us made an "Exam Review Motivational Video" for our students.  We changed the lyrics to some popular songs and I think we really proved our vocal abilities along the way ;)  You can watch our video on YouTube right..........HERE! 

3)  I had a nap today.  As a non-napper, that is BREAKING NEWS! :)  #coldseason

4)  The Bachelor started up again!  I'm a die-hard, you guys.  It doesn't even matter how much you tell me it's staged and ridiculous and absurd and a WASTE OF TIME.  I will forever and ever buy-in to a journey to find L.O.V.E.!!!!!!!!!!! 

5)  Jettie is taking up to 10 steps at a time!  The art of walking is soon to be MASTERED :)  And speaking of Juliet, I love our pre-bedtime snuggles.  Nothing beats a CLEAN and CUDDLY baby :)

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!  Sending our love! 

XOXO

It took a lot of patience, coffee, and chocolate.

But we made it!  We are officially HOME SWEET KUWAIT, my friends!  So, even though my stomach is growling and there's no milk to put in my coffee, I couldn't be happier to be blogging to you from my OWN BED :)

Phil and Jettie snuggled up at the start of flight #1 :)

Some facts about our journey home:

1)  Helsinki airport is the cutest airport.  It feels like you're in a cozy log cabin where everyone notices you have children and immediately rushes you through to make things EASIER.  Also, they have free wifi with no time restriction and no "wait for an SMS" nonsense to access it.  ALSO, there are SANTA references everywhere and I'm pretty sure they would be there regardless of the season.  ALSO..............they have a free gift wrapping station.   

2)  Have you ever been stuck in your seat for 45 minutes, holding a child who is SO STINKY that everyone around you wants you to break the seatbelt sign rule?  WE HAVE!  The Diarrhea Chronicles continued on-board (hooray!) and for an entire, horrifying 45 minutes (while waiting to get a "parking spot" at the Istanbul airport), we had the pleasure of people talking about our smelly babe in multiple languages.  English, Arabic, French, Swedish.........and....(our personal favourite!)....STINKY SIGNALS (nose plugging, hand-waving, and all similar motions you would make to share your gag-reflex-inducing experience with loved ones across the aisle from you).

3)  Our kids DO NOT sleep on planes.  EVER.  NOT EVER, you guys.  There is a ONE HOUR time difference between Kuwait and Helsinki and I think every one of us (Steve and Emily included!) is jet-lagged (as in over-the-ocean-jet-lagged) from our 4 a.m. arrival.  Because.  You know.  Our kids didn't sleep.  AT ALL.  ON THE PLANE.  

4)  We flew Turkish Airlines and might be the luckiest people to do so this week.  Somehow, by some fluke of a miracle, we didn't have any serious delays OR lost luggage.  This is opposite of what most people experienced so I'm guessing the bad luck we had at the Kathmandu airport years ago is still running its course ;)  (That air travel experience was THAT BAD.  TIMES A BILLION.  And it was pre-kids.)

I started to write this post this morning and now it's evening (almost 11!) and Nory is pretending to be a cat and jumping on our bed.  I have a feeling it will be a long night (see Fact #3) and with work starting up again tomorrow, the word of the week will be COFFEE.  Here's to hoping we can teach with our eyes open on Monday!  Good luck to those of you in the same position ;)

XOXO

Goodbye 2015, HELLO 2016!!!

Whenever I see or hear the word "HELLO", what I actually process is Adele's latest hit.  HELLO!!!  It's me!!!!  I'm sure you can relate.  Because you've also listened to the song a bazillion times.  Because it's 2016 now and you can't escape what's trending if you tried ;)

Anyways.  Here's what's been going on the last two days:

^^^  Left Side:  Em and I had a "Shay Day" in honour of a blogger whom we ADORE SO MUCH!  To celebrate, we wore plaid and set out to find some Butter London nail polish.  We didn't find the polish, but we DID find plaid cups!!!  Right Side: I love this joke that I found on Instagram :)  iPhone user for life.  (And I'm hoping to get a new one soon...LOVE YOU, PHIL!)

^^^  This was our sign for the game last night.  We thought it was hilarious, but I think we might have been the only ones who felt that way.  #youwinsomeyoulosesome

^^^  Despite the EXTRA-NOISY dialogue between Sweden fans and Canadian fans on the tram to the game, Nory snoozed away.  Unfortunately, she woke up on the walk to the arena and she did so on the wrong side of the stroller.  Juliet, in contrast, was wide-eyed and content as she took in all of the pre-game excitement (which was the most INSANE we'd seen it at this world junior tournament).  #newyearscrowd 

^^^  Since ice cream almost always makes everything better, we got one for Nory hoping that it would improve her mood.  It was a really brilliant idea until the ice cream started to melt and got her hands all dirty.  And then she got mad at me for licking away the drips.  And then she got mad at me for every single thing I did to try to save our New Years Eve from a ferocious practically-three-year-old.  And then Jettie got tired.  And then there we were, not even a whole period into the game, rushing to the concession area to do laps and calm our exhausted children before security gave us the boot.

 ^^^  Left Side:  Sometimes I like to post pictures to prove that Jettie HAS HAIR.  Right Side:  A SUPERMOM who left her own two babies at home in Canada rescued us by taking Nory on a walk to find her favourite mascot ever - FINKEY!  Thank you to this SUPERMOM and thank you to Finkey for being a wonderful distraction during all four Canada games :)

^^^  We left with 10 minutes left in the third period.  Em and Steve stayed til the end, so it was just us four as the clock struck midnight!  WOOT!  This year we resolve to SURVIVE life with a soon-to-be-walker and a soon-to-be-(already is?)-threenager.  That's good enough, right?  To survive?  Because I think that's all the energy we have right now ;) 

In all honesty, this year we look forward to watching the sibling dynamic change as Juliet gets more steady on her feet (and more vocal, too)!  Also, Nory will be starting nursery school in August and Phil will be taking on a new position at the school.  Changes are coming and we hope to embrace all they entail with optimism and togetherness.  It's easy to fall apart during times of change and our hope is to stay strong and united and JUST LOVE THE HECK OUT OF EACH OTHER.

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy 2016!

Love,
The Parkinson Family
XOXO

P.S.  Here's the video we made on our final day in Helsinki.  Thank you Steve for putting it all together for us! xo

NARRATING THE CAMERA ROLL...(pre-trip edition)

Last night was one of those nights where I could NOT sleep - even though both kids were sleeping and even though the house was dark and quiet.  So rather than toss and turn and get increasingly frustrated by the fact that I was still wide awake at a ridiculous hour, I decided to be productive and delete the plethora of blurry photos on my iPhone.  Which made me realize that I didn't share much of our December pictures.

So.

If you happen to be laying wide awake in bed and want to take your mind off of the fact that you are NOT SLEEPING and how that won't stop your child/children from waking up in a couple of hours...........I give you something to peruse ;)

 ^^^  Left side:  Can anyone guess what Nory's favourite colour is?  Right side:  Have you heard of Magna-Tiles?  We ordered them to Grandma's house and she kindly brought them all the way to Kuwait for us.  Look them up - they are SO MUCH FUN! :) 

 ^^^  Two things.  First, that outfit that Cecelia is wearing?  Nory was wearing that on the morning of her SECOND birthday.  Second, I can't wait for these two girls to start exploring together.  Cecelia will be crawling soon enough and then....we're all in for it!

 ^^^  We always say yes to coffee.  In EXTRA-AMAZING COFFEE NEWS, our school now brings Tim Hortons on campus every Thursday morning!  

^^^  Nory is officially into Barbies.  Watching her imagination in action is THE BEST PART about it :)  Actually....watching Phil play Barbies with her MIGHT be the real best thing about it!

 ^^^  Gotta watch out around our place.  With her walker, Jettie is on a serious mission and there's a (mostly) friendly mermaid that would live in our bathtub FOREVER if we let her. 

 ^^^  We hosted a small Christmas gathering at our place the weekend before we traveled.  Dana cooked a delicious turkey (THANK YOU, SISSY!) and everyone else brought a dish to share.  It was wonderful celebrating the holiday season with our Kuwait Family :) XOXO

 

^^^  Because we hadn't planned enough events already (ha!), Emily and I also planned a Christmas Sock Exchange Party with some girlfriends.  Everyone brought a pair of Christmassy socks stuffed with goodies, which we exchanged during a left/right circle activity (#teacherparties).  As a group of gals, we decided we need to get together more often.  I'm excited for our next ladies night in January :)

 ^^^  One of the best parts about being a teacher is wearing red and green and Santa earrings and holiday hairbands the entire week leading up to holidays.  And pulling the "I'm a teacher" excuse out of the back pocket when needed :) 

^^^  We had one final "Family Dinner" with #thehouseofnorules before leaving for the holidays.  They have had an eventful time away and we can't wait to see them....and hug the heck out of Seton....when we return to Kuwait!  MISS YOU GUYS! xo

TRUE PATRIOT LOVE :)

It's 10:30 on Wednesday evening and I'm snuggled up with Nory on the couch.  She's watching Baby Alive videos on YouTube (don't ask) and I'm eating some After Eights (hi Nan!) to keep me awake as I write this post.  This post, by the way, could alternatively be titled "December 28/29/30" because I'm going to be lazy and combine three trip days into one.  Truth being, I have little energy to spare tonight after dealing with diarrhea in not one, BUT BOTH, Parkinson children.  Did I mention it was our first night as JUST US FOUR at the apartment?  #bestfamilynightever #ha

(Last night was equally as hilarious as Nory remarked, "Mom!  I love your hair.  It is SO BEAUTIFUL!"  And just as my heart began to melt, she leaned in closer, took a big whiff, and exclaimed, "but it smells like poo, though.")

Motherhood.  SO FUN, you guys!

Anyways, we cheered on Canada in back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday night.  Our dedication to making signs remains strong and we've had to return to the stationary store to pick up more black and red markers for the cause.  Cardboard remains easily available in the recycling bin out back and we've lucked out with all of the boxes remaining from Christmas.

Team Canada won both games, although we didn't see the finish of the game versus Switzerland last night.  The girls had pretty much had it with only 3 minutes to go in the third period and, although it was tied 2-2, it was one of those situations where we knew we better not push it any longer.  Sometimes you gotta suck it up and miss the exciting shoot-out.  Sometimes you have to be a 100% parent.  GASP!

Before I sign off here, it must be said that CANADA FANS are the BEST.  Likely, the best in the world :)  There's nothing like a sea of red and white in a country that's not your own.  TRUE PATRIOT LOVE, my friends.

And now, PICTURES (because you know darn well I have a ridiculously excessive amount of pictures on my camera roll just waiting to be posted right here for you to love 'em like I do):