2836

That is how many days it took our rambunctious, spastic, monkey of a boy to break a bone.

This yet confirms that I should not be a betting woman. I would have lost that bet to anyone. I was certain this would have happened well before he got into the thousands.

So last Friday Jackson was at his friends house and they were running up the stairs. He tripped on the stairs and then fell back down onto some hard wood. He wined a bit, then continued to play some video games with his friend. John picked him up and he was complaining about it after dinner, so I knew something was up. We headed to urgent care to find out he has a break on the 5th metatarsel. He is one tough cookie. A broken bone with no crying involved. This sounds just like his dad. (ask his mom the story if you get a chance)

Kid funnies

So this morning Jack and I were discussing a neighbor that has two girls ages 6 and 8. Their parents are both lawyers and have schedules that keep them at work after school hours. Even though they frequently do not get home before their kids, they choose not to put their girls in childcare. Yes, with two salaries, they can not find enough $$ to have their kids watched over properly. So here is the funny part of this sad conversation:

Jackson: The girls told me that their parents are both lawyers and that they make a lot of money. They want to go to kidstop, but their parents won't let them.

Me: Really? A lot of money huh? How much do you think they make?

Jackson: A TON OF MONEY. They must make at least $30 a day both or something like that. At least $100 a week I think.

Me: You are right, they should send the girls to kidstop.

If his numbers are correct, I'll be sending my kids off to childcare asap. (I'm pretty sure John makes at least $100 a week.)

ps- As I'm writing this, I recalled a bad mommy moment I had myself last night. I gave my babe a honey graham cracker. Ok, a few graham crackers. I didn't even think about it, I even took some pictures of how cute she was. Jackson got home from a friends house and immediately lectured me that she was going to die because I fed her honey. OOPS! I guess we all have our issues.

Minnesota Icebox

One of the perks to living in this winter wonderland is that you don't have to take up precious space in your fridge to cool off your favorite beverage. Just stick it on your back porch and you'll have a perfectly chilled drink in minutes.

ps- I couldn't pass up this coke the other day at Costco. It's Coca-Cola Classic made in Mexico. That means it's made with the real stuff, SUGAR!!! mMmMmMm!!

The proof is in the pudding

What does that even mean anyway? Did I ever tell you that my husband is a big nerd? Well if I haven't, let me make one thing clear: my husband is a nerd. He insists that I can't prove this accusation....until now. Let's just say that the proof arrived packaged in a big brown box delivered by the mailman, uh I mean mail carrier. (you never know these days) so, without further ado, here is the proof I have been waiting for:

What is this you ask? A prestigious award from work, a first place triathlon trophy? Not even close. A few year back John's friends decided to get a trophy made for their fantasy league. Whoever wins gets possession of the trophy named the "small package" and gets to personalize it with an engraving, then pass it on to the next winner. Who do they think they are the NHL? Is John going to use it as a jello mold and drink hot cocoa out of it to celebrate...some pudding perhaps?? This has serious nerd proof written all over it. They just as well should give up and go play Magic the Gathering.

ps- I love nerds

I'm just not ready

Oh, my girl....where has the time gone? In 10 short days you will be 2/3 of the way through your first year. (8 months) It would be fine, except you are entirely too intent on being a toddler instead of the wee little lass of a baby that I want you to be.

Just the other day I caught you trying to tackle these bad boys:

And doing this: (returning from a trip to the bathroom)

And you found your way here:

Slow down sister!

Ramblings of a sleep deprived woman

Where do I begin? I Should start out by mentioning that last night Sadie woke up 4 times, Max wet the bed, Jackson coughed all night long and subsequently has an ear infection, and I had too much on my mind to fall asleep in between. Although I have had little sleep, my thoughts right now are running faster than I can process. So just disregard this post if it makes no sense whatsoever....

Sometimes I get overwhelmed with different problems that seem insurmountable and so I do nothing at all. It is like I am paralyzed because of my own inner fears. I've had a couple experiences lately that have helped the dim light bulb in my head go on and hopefully things will change.

1. I'm reading a book right now called Give a Little, How your small donations can transform our world. It's opened my eyes to many of the big problems our world has that can be solved by little means individually, that collectively turn into a solution. It's an amazing book that I highly recommend.

2. A couple weeks ago in church I had a friend that made a comment that just really clicked for me. She used to have the attitude that I have...."I'm not a gourmet cook, I'm not an amazing athlete, I'll never look like such and such, so why bother trying? She decided to change the wording in her head from I can't do that to "well, what can I do?" Making that change has changed her life and attitude, and I'm hoping it will change mine as well. This doesn't mean that I'm going to go take up sewing and open an etsy shop or go run a marathon in record time, but it does mean I'm not going to give up before I even start.

Which brings me to the original reason for this post, Haiti. In 2003 John and I took a cruise to the Western Caribbean. Our first stop was a private island off the coast of Haiti owned by the cruise company. Every day Haitians would boat over to this island to sell their wares and other items as well as play music and entertain the cruisers. We found these people nice but pushy and overly eager to sell the small items they had. Of all the islands we visited, we thought they seemed most in need. I realized that they were only so assertive because selling an item could decide if they were to eat that day or be able to take care of their family. Fast forward 7 years and I'm sure not a lot has changed for the people of Haiti, and to couple it with a massive earthquake, it must be a disaster. What's happening over there is just horrendous and is another example of when I'm overwhelmed, I usually do nothing. I've decided that "i can" do a couple things for the people of Haiti. I can use this tragedy to gain major perspective in my life, I can write a post about it, I can forgo eating out for the rest of the month and find other ways to save $$ to send for their relief. What can you do? Here is a good place to start:

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/church-response-to-haiti-earthquake

Chapter 3, just like our baby bearing situation

THIRD AND FINAL.

So to close out our amazing trip we jaunted over to Naples aka the retirement capital of the world. Unfortunately, the only time I got the camera out was one afternoon at the beach. It was incredible to be laying in the sand, soaking up a few rays knowing that our Midwestern friends back home were being dumped on by mother nature. I enjoyed every breathe of warm, fresh, salty sea air!

After the boys braved the cold water, they were warmed up with a little bit of warm sand.

With her new found crawling freedom, Sadie cruised the shoreline and also took some time to watch the waves roll in and reflect on her first seven months of life.

I love, love, love seeing pictures of my boys playing together. It stirs some emotion in me that I can't quite explain with my limited vocabulary. A few years back this picture wouldn't have taken place. Due to The big A and undiagnosed hearing loss, it would have included me on alert ready to stop/prevent a physical fight because of the lack of communication skills Jackson and Max were lacking....and take it from me, that is not a fun trip to the beach! Now that we have the knowledge, skills, and aides to understand our boys, they now are best buds. Ok, maybe that's reaching a little.

Raising my two boys feels like living in MN as compared to FL. Summer is great, then fall comes and it is beautiful, but you know on the horizon that treacherous times lay ahead. Then cold storms hit, and its hard, but somehow you manage to stumble through once you have the proper attire and with help of others in the midst of their cold weather troubles. All the while, you know many who live in a life where blizzards, below freezing temps and changing weather just aren't something they have to deal with in their life. (even though they think they might, they just have no idea....60 degrees is not cold FL residents) It's all just another "day at the beach" for them. MN is a hard place to live, but I love it still. It's because of the rough times that I am able to realize, enjoy, and appreciate that wonderful weather when it does roll around like it did on this day at the beach.

Chapter two: A Photo Essay

Here are a few highlights of our Orlando portion of our vacation. Looking back, I can't believe we survived 6 solid days of Disney with our wild and crazy boys! Actually, we couldn't have done it with out the help of John's Mom, Dad, Grandma and especially his brother Benn, oh and my boys imaginations while waiting in line. Don't you hate it when Dinosaur's try to bite your arm off at Disney?

We also made a special call to Santa and requested that he deliver Christmas to our hotel. We even came up with a last minute substitute for a pine tree. A Christmas palm tree is appropriate in Florida right?

John was called up from the audience in Epcot to prove that he has in fact changed a few of his children's diapers. He smoked his competition. It wasn't even close....Go John!


The Parrish clan in the hotel lobby. We loved our hotel! When looking online, we noticed that our accommodations had more sq. footage than our first house, but I guess that's not saying a lot.

Another reason we enjoyed our trip so much: GG. That's Great Grandma Parrish. She was able to keep up with us for 5 out of the 6 days we were there. Impressive!

To pass the time in lines, we took pictures of Sadie. ( I could do this all day) P.S. The best thing about bringing a baby is the rider switch pass....I highly recommend it to anyone!

We have dear friends Michael and Debra that live in nearby Tampa and they were able to spend a couple days with us at the happiest place on earth. Max and their oldest Novatana developed a close relationship. Or should I say that Max did?! I don't think he left her side the entire day. She is such a sweet genuine little girl and Max took to her like white on rice.

Ninja Chefs work at Benihana. Enough said.

It's hard to get a good family picture when all Sadie ever wants to do is play with Max's luscious locks.

This is John's little bro Benn. Just call me a cougar because I have a crush on this guy. Nothing is cuter than a guy who is great with children. Benn went above and beyond Uncle duties that week. He might be getting a mug in the mail soon that says world's best uncle.

My boys were were bound and determined to go swimming at the hotel pool. I stuck my feet in and came up with a better idea. John took them swimming and Sadie and I got in our bigger than life tub. The boys joined us after braving the cold to warm up.

Now I know why everyone tells me she has beautiful big eyes.

My favorite picture of the trip: Fireworks at Epcot. We had to have the best seats in the house.

All good things must come to an end!

Next chapter, Naples baby!