New Haircut

Well, as most who know me can attest, I have hair issues.

After having a baby, most of mine falls out, but it grows back in several months later. I end up walking around for all the world to see as a look-alike for Chewbacca in StarWars.

Well, my regrowth is coming in gang-busters after Calvin, so I sought out some professional assistance with my new "look".

I went to my guy, Rob, and asked for him to somehow make the mess on my head look better.

"This is the best I can do until it grows out some more." was his reply.









(okay, this may not be me, but this is my exact hairdo! And he really did say the above quote.)

The Blue Twirly Thing

I don't love new toys. Most of them break right away. See that blue twirly thing in the corner?



Well, it's very popular with all the grandkids at the beach and it's at least 30 years old.

How do I know?



I remember plunking my fat little bum down on it when I was about 3 and spinning until I lost my cookies.

Ahhh, those were the days.



The really good toys made you hurl.

I know, I know!

I realize I'm slacking on the whole family journal. It's an accomplishment every day if I don't throw up on anyone.
As for our goings-on, well, they're slim.

Tate's soaking up every last second of Summer before next Tuesday.



Miles can swim as long as he's got "doddles" on



(not really but at least he's not screaming bloody murder in the water anymore.)






Calvin has added old rubber to his diet.



I'm drowning my sorrows in Mario Brothers with Miles.



He's an eager student.



We've consolidated shower time.



I've found the more kids you shove in there, the cleaner they get.



Lucy's lost this horrible dangly front tooth (finally!!!), but I have no photos yet.



We've lowered our standards in general.



Again.



They can't get much lower.



And they're all eating sickening amounts of Pop Tarts.



Do you think they mind?

Pablo

Apparently word is out in the pre-existence.

The Parker family is the place to be.

So far, so good.

Scraping the bottom of the barrel

Yeah, so I'm almost out of ideas.

It's hot.

Really hot.

We can't go outside, so I'm starting to get desperate. Here's what I came up with today:

We each get a big piece of foil, and we have to design and build a boat.



One at a time, we floated them in the sink to see who's could hold the most coins.



Miles held his own with 134 coins in the "Loser Express":



Tate was devastatingly close to winning with 152 in "The Scurvy Dog":



And the grand winner, at 154 coins, was Miss Lucy with "Polar Bear Express":



(Really mine won at 214 coins, but I'm disqualified because I'm "too tall" according to the other participants. Isn't the "Calvina" just lovely?)

When Daddy's are in charge

I found these on the camera:

Vanity is a very bad thing

Vanity causes some people to do awful things.

Some people.

Not me, of course.

For instance, some poor mommy might be sick of her furry baby-regrowth hair. She might be so concerned by it, that she would venture into one of those salons in the mall for fancy conditioner, which promises to tame the fuzz. She might be so overcome with evil vanity that she would lose her mind and bring 4 children in there without a stroller.

I would never do that.

But she might.

But, if she was that stupid, baaaaad things would be bound to happen.

Her baby,



perched on her hip, would wait a whole 7 seconds after entering the store to grab the nearest object, say, a glass bottle of hot pink nail polish. He wouldn't wait even a quarter of a second before hucking, (not dropping, mind you, but hurling with the force of a quarterback) that nail polish at the slate tile on the ground.

That nail polish would then not break, but EXPLODE all over the mommy's leg, her favorite leather sandals, the floor, the checkout counter, and the twirly rack of nail polishes.

She might have to holler at the only employee in sight and beg for paper towels because she would be rooted to the spot, for fear of tracking nail polish throughout the store. The employee would be highly unhelpful, as would the three paper towels.

That's what I imagine would happen.

I don't know of course, because I am not afflicted with evil vanity.

Thank goodness.

Poor Calvina

My lovely friend, Rachel, is here visiting us this weekend. She flew all the way from Arizona with her 8 month old, Brooke.



Brooke is a beautiful baby with a beautiful name,



but my children have renamed her.




That's right, they refuse to call her by her own name and insist on calling her Calvina (pronounced, cal-veen-a).



Poor Calvina,



she may have lost her name, but she gained a whole pack of new adoring fans.

32

Well, funny enough, August 4th came again, and I am another year older. I haven't figured out how to make that stop happening.

I can't complain too much.

Miles gave me gum, "So you tan share it with me, Momma!"

Tate and Lucy drew lovely pictures on my wrapping paper.

Jake was thoughtful beyond belief.

Calvin held back on some of his intended mischief for the day.

My family loves me.

I got a bronze monkey.

I got to swim in a pool.

I got calls from my friends and family.

And most importantly, I finished the day enjoying a carrot cake with my name on it.

Seriously, "Happy Birthday Alison"



How could I ask for more?

Connecticut Slip n' Slide

What's the difference between an Arizona Slip n' Slide and one in Connecticut?



No hose.



That's right, folks. All this fun and adventure brought to you by Mother Nature.



I must say, we were not praising her on this day prior to these pictures. It was hot and sticky and then it was rainy and still hot!

Lucy was whining like there was no tomorrow, until I finally kicked her out into the yard. The toys were all still out from the day before, and this is what she came up with:



As soon as I spread the word that playing in the rain was legal, they were unstoppable.



There may have been one or two who weren't really lovin' the fun...



Okay, maybe just one.



Okay, maybe he hated every moment.



Fine, he may have hated one or two of us as well.



Yeah, okay. He didn't like any of us after this.



Dads always push the fun just a little too far, don't they?

Speaking of...



Okay, make that two non-lovers of the slide.



But even Calvin, after watching his family run and scream and hurl themselves down the hill,



decided it was a pretty good time.