NARRATING THE CAMERA ROLL.......(which I forgot to publish a few weeks ago)

 ^^^  Not one of them is looking, but for some reason I adore this picture.  Also, the treadmill has since been moved into our bedroom thanks to PHILLIP THE PERSISTENT!  Now I can use the treadmill ALL BY MYSELF and WHENEVER I LIKE :)  THANK YOU, PHIL! xo

 ^^^  It was my colleague's birthday last month and we celebrated with some treats at our after school department meeting.  I was really excited about these candles I found, right up until the third last letter.  Haaa!!!!!  When was your first BIRTH-RAY?  

 

^^^ Left Side:  January 24th was NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER DAY and our friend Mary hosted a gathering after work to celebrate.  She had MORE THAN just peanut butter, too!  She had all the fixings for the girlies to make peanut butter smiley faces!  Right Side:  "Lindsay" is a tricky name to relay to a barista in a crowded Starbucks where the name is far from usual.  I feel awful every time I have to say my name, because, you know what Starbucks employees are like.  They want to get your name RIGHT and make your experience a GREAT ONE.  During my last trip for a latte, the barista and I settled on "LEN".  In retrospect, I think this name has some serious STARBUCKS sticking power....  

^^^  Here we are in the midst of a 2-3 day MY LITTLE PONY obsession.  We had to bake in our MLP dress, with our "real" MLP.  

^^^  Family selfies are IMPOSSIBLE now.  We still try, though.  In doing so, I suppose we are capturing the current season of parenthood :)  #crazy

^^^  We also celebrated NATIONAL POPCORN DAY last month.  It was our JANUARY girls night event - super easy to throw together and tasty nonetheless.  FYI - I've discovered that dried cranberries and popcorn are MADE FOR EACH OTHER.

^^^  This is why I have the best sister in the world!!! LOVE YOU, DANA!!!! xoxo

^^^  This is why I have the best friends in the world.  LOVE YOU, SARA!!! xoxo

^^^  And this is why our drive home from work feels shorter than it actually is :) #longestlighteverparty

I never told you what happened after Nory's birthday party...

But I'm reminded to do so now as I sit here and think about how tomorrow is Saturday.  And how I've grown to fear Saturdays.  And how that's WEIRD because Saturdays are THE WEEKEND and there should be nothing fearful about a break from work (well, minus a passionate threenager waiting for you at home).

But the reason we fear Saturdays is THIS:  our family has gotten into this "SICK SATURDAY" routine (with one of us being sick EVERY SINGLE SATURDAY) and we've been PREPPING SUB PLANS LIKE IT'S GOING OUTTA STYLE (and crying too).  Allow me to share with you the post-princess party events.....

^^^  A harmless trip to the baseball field, where Emily watched her first baseball game EVER and we almost froze to death watching Phil's team play against our friend Amy's team.  When we got home, Phil was feeling achy and awful.  I told him he was "maybe just out of shape".  I totally eat my words later.

 
^^^  Saturday morning, Phil returned from basketball practice feeling even worse.  He definitely needed to rest, so I did my best to distract the girls and run off some of their "PLAY WITH ME DADDY!!!!" energy.  In the meantime, Phil's best friends became the toilet and the garbage can.  He was officially out of commission.  (Hey Babe, you're totally in shape!  Way to run those bases and win the baseball game!  I knew you were sick all along!)  

 
^^^  Phil called in sick on Valentine's Day and Auntie Gem invited him to stay in her spare bedroom so that he could actually rest away from the girls.  I decided I needed to run the house like a full-fledged camp that evening, making pink pancakes for dinner, making pretend heart cakes with playdoh and making a real heart cake with colouful sprinkles!  It was the only way I could comfort my aching heart.......... #valentinesdaywithoutmyvalentine  

 
^^^  Once "camp" came to a close, the girls were gifted some fancy new pajamas for Valentines Day and I quickly dropped off a Sri Lankan miracle drink to Phil (thank you K-POP!) before returning home TO SLEEP.  This parenting thing is so much easier as a DUO, I tell ya.

^^^  After kissing my $45 Starbucks travel mug on Monday morning, I survived another Phillip-less day at work (boooooo!) and then returned home for an evening of "the hugging game" (invented by Nory) and "the survival game" (invented by ME).  As the visual evidence demonstrates, the Camp Director totally slacked off this evening and hid Juliet behind a chair with some of Nory's barbies, while Nory watched some "Goldie and Bear" on Disney Junior.  I drank coffee LIKE A BOSS.  Poor Phil was still BFF's with the bathroom and we didn't get so much as a glimpse of him this evening.

^^^  On Tuesday, Daddy was still very sick and so he drove himself to the hospital where he spent the day hooked up to an IV, re-hydrating and trying to solve this PHILLIP + BATHROOM mystery.  As it turns out, he had a highly elevated bacterial count and the doctor suspects it was food poisoning.  Phil was sent home with a bag of meds and strict instructions to rest.  Which meant he was going to continue being roomies with Auntie Gem for the next few days.  So on this day, the Camp Director maintained her lazy streak and boiled a bag of edamame for the girls to play with.  Haaaaa!!!!!

Then Wednesday came along.  And I didn't take a single picture. (GASP!!!!!!!!!!!)

After five Daddy-less days, I was wiped out, the girls were missing their Daddy terribly, and Phil was sick of being sick and missing the girls something fierce.  We were all just teary-eyed and exhausted at this point.  Even taking a photo with my mobile was SIMPLY TOO MUCH.  #dramatic

So, on Thursday night, when he "moved back in", it was THE BEST DAY EVER.  We were pumped!  We were smiling!  We were an UN-STOPPABLE TEAM OF FOUR!  And the blissful, on-top-of-the-world feeling continued until Saturday.  

Because on Saturdays we get sick.  And our house was a mucousy mess.

Tomorrow is Saturday too.  Besides my lingering cold, we're doing alright.  But it's still only Friday.  Can y'all please think of us and send us some immune-boosting thoughts over the next few hours?  Alas, if one of us gets sick tomorrow, we're going on some RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS spree to improve our karma. 

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY, ELEANOR!

Phil and I have a THREE YEAR OLD, you guys!!!!  A THREE YEAR OLD!!!!!!!!!

I mean, I say this in a breaking news, unexpected, didn't see that coming whatsoever sort of way.  But given that three comes after two and two comes after one and times keeps on ticking and yadda, yadda....I get that it's not something you can possibly deliver in such a surprised way.

But STILL.

WE HAVE A THREE YEAR OLD, YOU GUYS!

Last Friday was the official BIG DAY and we celebrated with a Princess Party at our place - planned by Auntie Gem, executed by a group of us, and enjoyed by MANY :)  There was lots of dressing up (adults included), a pink and sparkly playdough station, glitter galore (praise K-POP!), and the trademark "water bottles" that have become a characteristic of all ABBOTT-ORGANIZED events.  This time is was ROYAL WATER, too!  TAKE A LOOK!

It's crazy that some of the party guests were at the hospital on the day that Nory was born.  Perhaps they can relate to me, then, as I say with such AWE that the girl is 365 times THREE days old.  OY.

Thank you to everyone who came to party with our Princess!  And an EXTRA SPECIAL THANK YOU to Auntie Gem for all that she did to make this day wonderful.  We are fortunate to belong to such a loving and thoughtful community in Kuwait! XOXO

And now, some fun facts about Nory at AGE THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1)  Her new favourite phrase is "of course!".  It makes her sound super agreeable when the truth of the matter is that she WANTS WHAT SHE WANTS. 

2)  She has an imagination that is wild and wonderful.  Most afternoons, there are wolves chasing us around in the living room, dolphins swimming in the floor tiles, and witches freezing every human they encounter.

3)  She still swims like a fish in her tubby.  She has multiple baths a day and it can take hours to coax her out of the water.

4)  She wants to start school so badly.  All of her friends in our complex are attending school, so she gets pretty jealous and has a hard time understanding why she has to wait until August.

5)  She's a baker.  She LOVES helping us in the kitchen while we make pancakes, cupcakes, cookies, and muffins.

6)  Seton is her best friend forever.  They've been going through some growing pains these days, but every day she reminds us that her best friend is Seton and that she loves her SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH.

7)  Give the girl some coins and a piggy bank OR some edamame and some bowls, and you've got the girl quietly playing for at least five minutes.  Playdough usually does the job too.

8)  Nory isn't so keen on the fact that Juliet is walking.  It means that toys get moved, towers get knocked over, cheese gets stolen and sharing becomes more of a thing.  We're all trying to figure out this new dynamic.

9)  Although she's not even close to being known as A QUIET CHILD, she does declare at various points throughout the day that she NEEDS QUIET TIME.  Which basically means an episode or two of Max and Ruby on Netflix, in her bed, with a snack, and a bottle of water.  Then she comes flying back out and is recharged for more action :)        

10)  Lastly, our DRESSES and SHOES GAL changes about a BAZILLION TIMES each day.  Which is why her birthday present from us suits her absolutely PERFECTLY!  Phil, Em, Justin and I PINTEREST-ED together this dress-up storage unit, hacking some shelving from IKEA and using some "royal" knobs from Zara Home.  It all came together quite nicely and now has a permanent home in our living room where the princess plays and pretends for hours :)  Even better, many of our friends gave her costume jewellery or pretty purses as gifts and so her accessories collection is really rocking! 

And before I sign out here, my family will understand what I mean when I say that Nory is in the "bow's in a knot!" phase of life. Let's just say that Nory wants to do everything by herself and when she can't get the task done alone, she freaks out.  (I blame my family for failing to tell me that this is a PHASE and not JUST A MOMENT.  That would have been helpful, Grampy.)

Wish us luck as we navigate Parkinson Family of Four // With a Three Year Old // And a One Year Old // And Two Cats.....

XOXO

It's time we talk about ALEXANDRA.

She's been discussed on the blog before, but only in passing and I want to make sure I do this a little more intentionally...

From Nory's Birthday Party on Friday :)

Alex is a 23 year old BEAUTY whom we met at the start of the school year.  We connected through a former colleague from Egypt who was lucky enough to have Alex complete her practicum in his classroom back home.  Not only did we have that connection, but Alex is also Canadian (#automaticattraction) and her Dad happens to live a three minute walk from our house in Lakefield (#smallworld)!  To take it a step further, we discovered early on that Em, Alex and myself have matching agendas with the same ego-boosting pages on the inside AND that she is as embarrassingly (I think) obsessed with Survivor as Phil happens to be.  It comes as no surprise, then, that she nailed her "audition" process in record-breaking time and was adopted as our Kuwait "Little Sister" as soon as the paperwork was ready to go ;) 

Some things that we really, really adore about our Little Sis:

1)  It's like we've known her for years.  Sometimes, I forget that she doesn't know some of the people or memories that we do.

2)  You'll never meet a more open-minded, non-judgemental person ever.  Everything is just "COOL" to her, no matter how BIZARRE and MIND-BOGGLING it seems to the rest of us.

3)  She gives everyone the benefit of the doubt.  It doesn't matter the situation, she assumes positive intentions.  (Even when you're in a really bad mood and you need someone to simply AGREE WITH YOU on the behaviour of another person.) 

4)  She has a KIND SOUL.  Case in point:  While I was at the hospital with Jettie, Alex went to visit Nory and ended up watching her in the tubby for a GAZILLION HOURS.   

5)  She loves our girls.  And she doesn't even have to say it.  You can tell in the way her eyes light up every time she's around them.  She genuinely cares for and adores them :) 

6)  The girl is ALIVE.  SHE LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She DOES STUFF!!!!!  She GOES PLACES!!!!!!  And, in doing so, she reminds us that having fun is not just important, but NECESSARY. 

7)  She laughs it off.  Everything and anything.  The rest of us need to adopt a piece of that coping strategy...

At Christmas dinner! :)

We love you, Little Sis!  Thank you for teaching us to see the world through your eyes, mind, and heart.  We are so lucky to have you!!!

XOXO  

CONVERSATIONS with NORY :)

Auntie Gem notices that Nory is biting her nails....

Gem:  Nory!  When did you start biting your nails?!

Nory:  Hmm....3 o'clock maybe?

________________________________________________________

While getting ready to go to Seton's house...

Phil:  Nory, is it okay if I come to Seton's house with you and Mommy?

Nory:  Only if you say the magic words.

Phil:  Okay.  What are the magic words?

Nory:  (yelling)  MOMMY'S BIG TUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

________________________________________________________

Nory visits Phil in the kitchen...

Phil:  Hey Nory!  What's Mommy up to?

Nory:  Um....she's dreaming of a man!

________________________________________________________

Minutes after trying to explain to Nory that HER SHOES won't fit on SETON'S FEET...

Nory:  (super proud) Look Mommy!  They fit!  Just like Cinderella's slippers.  

Hospital Saturdays?

I'm laying in bed having a coffee and Phil's in the tubby with two girlies that are giggling away.  If you were to enter our apartment right now, you'd see the cats were also playing happily and that the house is overall clean and tidy.  In fact, if you entered our apartment RIGHT NOW, things would seem PRETTY DARN GREAT.

Except for the fact that I'm a bit of a blubbering mess.   

Remember how Phil went away to Bahrain last weekend?  And how we were all sick before his departure?  Well, not only did things not improve, but the germ train keeps on chugging, my friends.

CHOO FREAKING CHOO.  

Here's the LOW-DOWN:

1)   Last Saturday morning, Juliet ended up in the hospital for two nights with a dehydrating stomach virus. With Phil being out of country during day one and me being NOT-SO-TOUGH-AS-NAILS in the SICK BABY + NEEDLES DEPT.......we struggled.  Nory was crying because I left her at home with Kumari.  Jettie was crying because of the IV insertion and the lack of freedom it entailed.  And I was crying for all of the aforementioned reasons.  Thankfully, we have THE BEST KUWAIT FAMILY EVER, and they all threw on their TEAM PARKINSON shirts to keep our family sane. 

2)  On Tuesday evening, I went to pick up a towel for Nory and my back gave out.  A TOWEL, you guys.  A TOWEL!  It was so bad that Phil had to lift me into bed that night and he also had to help me get dressed the next day.  And the day after that.  At least sick babies don't want their mamas to hold them when they're sick. 

Trey tried to cheer me up by sending me pictures like this.  WAIT - he actually sent these pictures to me AND a group of other people.  I was only slightly embarrassed.  Welcome, Age Thirty?

3)  THIS Saturday, Kumari was sick and ended up in the hospital on IV (her first time EVER in 35 years!).  Nory also spiked a fever, complained of some stomach pains, and went to and from the bathroom until Phil decided to take her to the doctor too.  And while Phil was packing a bag for Nory's big trip to the hospital, Jettie decided to puke all over the living room floor :)

4)  TODAY, Kumari is home.  But TODAY, Nory woke up really unhappy again.  As in, "I DO NOT EVEN WANT A TUBBY" happy.  And so, Phil came home from work to take her to the hospital where they waited around for hours until Nory finally decided that she could pee in a cup.  The girl's on antibiotics now and we hope this day marks the end of IT ALL.

Anyways, back to this afternoon.  

When I became Mrs. McSOBS.  

I don't know, you guys.  I'm exhausted from GERMS and I just want everyone to be healthy again.  Our house has been sick FOREVER!!!!!!!! 

And then there's Trey.

Whose jokes are thriving off our family's medical misfortunes.........

Fingers crossed his joke game gets SHUT DOWN.  ASAP!

GIRLS WEEKEND! (Not sure if I have used the correct punctuation....)

Phil's away in Bahrain this weekend for a basketball tournament.  The last time he was away (Halloween weekend), we didn't get sick until the end of our Daddy-less time.  But THIS TIME, we decided to be EXTREME about it all, and so ALL THREE OF US are already fighting something interesting...

Nory spiked a fever this week and woke up with her eyes glued shut on Wednesday morning.  She also has a rash.  And so, she's on eye drops three times a day (optimistically) and "magic cream" whenever we can convince her she needs some.

Juliet didn't sleep well on Wednesday night and spiked a fever last night.  We played the familiar "hold me / don't hold me" game in the evening and we also decided to change into a SECOND PAIR of pajamas (both of us!) after her diaper failed to DO ITS JOB.  Gross.  But true.  Thankfully, Juliet is the most calm, patient, EASY baby to change EVER.  #biggestlieofthecentury

As for me, I've been battling a cold / flu / no idea ever since we returned from Finland.  I've taken a day off school, I've been to the doctor, I've taken medicine......We're dealing with a CATEGORY FIVE in the STUBBORN GERM DEPT.  

The two of us before Phil left school for the airport.  One of us was a little more excited for the weekend than the other.  Refresher:  EYE DROPS.  THREE TIMES A DAY.  FOR A THREE YEAR OLD.

Despite the germs, we actually had a great time together last night - making pink cupcakes, playing with dolls, getting our nails painted with Auntie, having a tubby, and jumping in the bed while "Max and Ruby" played on my computer.  

Once the girls went to bed, I was able to FACETIME with Phillip because........BREAKING NEWS EVERYONE!!!!  After owning an iPhone since LAST JUNE, Phil HAS FINALLY DECIDED TO USE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!  Imagine my surprise when my phone started ringing to a FaceTime request from my husband :)  Y'all should be PROUD!  (He's also started to use Facebook more, too!)

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways, right now, the girls are still asleep and I'm drinking as much warm caffeine as I can :) I only had to sweep up one broken glass before I made coffee (Ben and Winka, for sure) and now I'm sipping away to the sweet sounds of construction outside my window.  Speaking of outside....it's THREE DEGREES, you guys! 

HAPPY FRIDAY to everyone back home!  I posted this for my students yesterday, so I'll do the same for you now....XOXO

THIS ONE HERE...

...is at the FUNNEST, MOST HILARIOUS, MOST GOSH-DARN FRUSTRATING age yet.  For real.  One minute I want to jump out the window and the next I'm begging to be snuggled up with her on the couch.  Here are some of the conversations that have got us laughing this week:

CONVERSATION #1:

While driving in the car with Phil....

Nory:  Daddy, do you remember when we went on the airplane?

Phil:  Yes.  You mean when we went to Finland?

Nory:  Yes.  (pause / look of concern)  That made me feel very worried.

CONVERSATION #2:

Also in the car - with Nory and Phil cruising around together....

Nory:  (in a happy, singing voice) I went swimming with Seton.......but it was FREEEEEZING.......I started CRYING.........I started SCREAMING..........Mommy took me inside..............

It was a great recap of the afternoon's events.  Although she DID leave out the part where she tantrum-ed in her bedroom for what seemed like FOREVER.

CONVERSATION #3:

While having a tubby...

Phil:  Nory, no more splashing please or you will have to get out.

Nory:  Well, Daddy.  You can grow up and I can splash you. (BIG SMILE)


P.S.  As you can tell, we are still VERY MUCH into PINK.  Also, My Little Pony is a thing now too.