Handsome little booger

I just love this little stinker.



I love the goofy faces he makes.



I could sit and squeeze him all day if he'd let me.



Which he won't.



Because he's a little bit rotten like his siblings.



And someday he's going to go through that funny-looking-kid stage. Or maybe he'll have several. I'll not notice he's in one until later when he's cute again.

But for now, I'm just enjoying squeezing and cuddling and chewing on him. Oh, and taking lots of pictures.

Before he gets funny looking.

Or maybe he already is and I just don't know it.

Don't tell me.

Getting smarter, the easy way...

What is it with other people's glasses?



My kids have this obsession with wearing my glasses. I can't remember feeling that way about my mom's. Maybe it's because I only wear mine a few times a day and hers were just part of her face because she always had them on.

Whatever the reason, my kids love to try mine on.



Even Calvin.



He grabs them off my face and tries to put them on, which usually resembles cramming them up his nose.



I love how wearing glasses makes all little kids look so cute, and so much smarter.



Well, maybe not all kids.

I love my job

Why I like my chosen profession:

-I can wear stretchy pants to work.

-Job security - I can't get fired, no matter how hard my clients try to leave me.

-If a co-worker (any other human being whom I am in contact with during the day) annoys me, I just don't answer the phone when they call anymore.

-I get to decide to just take a day off if I want. I'll pay for it tomorrow, but I can watch cartoons with Miles all day if I don't feel like moving.

-I'm rather fond of all my clients.

-What I do is important.

-While I re-do almost everything 37 times in a day, I still enjoy clean shirts on boys and wiped off tables, so I don't mind re-doing.

-No day is ever exactly like another day.

-The retirement benefits (the eternal ones) are excellent.

-While many women think this job is beneath them or doesn't fully tap their potential, this is the perfect job for me, and I like to think of myself as an expert in my field.

-I can listen to music as loud as I want to and no one can stop me.

-I can request hugs and kisses from the clients and not get in trouble for harassment.

-If a client smells bad, I can tell them to take a bath.

-While I am only a manager, not the owner of the company, I like to think The Boss has entrusted me with his 5 most special clients because He loves me.

On the move...

While he still prefers the old, faster way, at least we know he can do it now.

Weeee!

Did I already say we give all our Halloween candy away?

We do. To the dentist.

They send it overseas for the troops to hand out to the kids in Iraq, Afganistan, etc. (they probably eat a little too.)

Anyway, you may ask yourself how I get my kids to do it. Well, they enter everyone in a raffle to win a Nintendo Wii. I never hold out hope of winning, just hope of less cavities. We've done it every year since living here and this year...


We won!!!


Weeeeee!

(Want a cool dentist? Go see Dr. Stephen Kest at Dental Care Kids of Stamford. You will LOVE them. Just tell them the Parkers sent you.)

One-armed jacket no more!

Lucy's been sporting her coat and sweaters like this for the past 6 weeks:



Not anymore! The cast came off Thursday and, although she still can't use the arm or hand, at least she can wear clothes with two arms!

Losing 10 pounds the easy way.

My boys were all so furry last week, I just couldn't be seen with any of them in public.



People were asking if they could pet my little blonde puppy. Seriously, they looked just like a village of Ewoks.



Truly, you could hide a small rodent in there.



Even Jake was starting to resemble a hedge.



So, I rounded them all up and herded them down to our man, Tony. He works in a barber shop on Greenwich Ave. with all of his Italian uncles and cousins.



Tony works miracles. He can get a little boy to sit still for a good 10 minutes while he transforms them from ruffian to respectable.




The only one unimpressed with Tony's super skills was Calvin.



A pink lollipop changed his tune pretty quickly,



however, I just had to make sure I held it in one place and his face followed.

A few suckers and tears later:



Respectable.

As a reward for acceptable behavior (good is way too big of a stretch for Miles and Calvin), we took them next door to the brand new bakery/cafe for a snack. The food was pretty good, but I was most impressed with the layout of the place. Long wooden tables filled the place, so you have to sit at the same table with other people. They were just a bit too tall for Calvin.



Then again, he did get plenty of fiber in his diet that day.



At least nobody asked me to get my puppy to stop chewing on the table.

I love little boys!

Worth the wait...

Miles has been a little impatient to be 4. He even skipped it and started telling everyone he was 5 for a while there. Well, wait no more my boy!



What a fun day he had. After the hardest part (waiting until the chocolate chip pancakes were ready), he had his chance to tear into the presents.



Lucy sure knows what her little brother likes. He drooled Tootsie Roll slobber all day.



I think Tate would have sat on Miles's lap if possible, but he settled for scooting his chair right up to the action.



We had 2 very excited boys all day. I love that Miles has a buddy to play with his toys with.



Grandpa and Grandma sent a game and some very well received new jammies ("So I can fly in my sleep.")



Calvin was unimpressed.



I love watching this kid get excited. He doesn't ditch the "I'm too cool" very often, but it's fun to watch when he does.



I've got 4 kids playing with these cars on the living room floor right now.

Good purchase, Me.



Happy Birthday, Monkey Chow. We love you bunches.

Ric-Rac Rambo

Move over Sylvester Stalone, I've got my very own manly man here.



That's right, Mr. Studly wanted to be able to call his mom while doing dishes on Sunday but it hurt his neck to hold it between head and shoulder. He rigged up this attractive little number all on his own.



Yep, you heard me.

He does dishes on Sunday nights!

Happy #4 Miley Man!

Things about Miles on his 4th Birthday:

-He still says the letter "c" as a "t". (I love love this!)

-He likes to race me to the school in the afternoon.

-He will eat absolutely anything.

-He wants to marry me someday.

-He still likes to cuddle up to me and read books while the big kids are at school.

-He tells everyone he's 6.

-He sings primary songs ALL day long, and he knows all the words.

I really do love 4 year old Miles, despite his mischievous side. I can't wait to see what he learns this year, but secretly, I will always want this Miles back:

The post-church uniform

I love Sunday afternoons.

No guilt about undone chores.

No work.

No pants.



Calvin always helps me unpack the church bag.




Even eats all the leftover cheerio crumbies in the bottom of the bag.



We call him "helper monkey".



Not to be confused with "crazy monkey".



She's teaching him all her tricks.



These two monkeys seem to like after-church too.

Yay for Lucy!

Well, it looks like a little bit more

in the future for the Parker house.

For my mommy...

My mom is stuck in a barren desert.

She sees the same landscape year round, except for a couple of months, when the few trees are bare. They don't turn colors and slowly shed, like here. You just wake up one morning, and the leaves are on the ground. That's hard on a girl from New England.

So for my mom, Jake took these:

(Don't worry. He doesn't crash, but you may need to take some Dramamine first.)







If only the cactus spikes turned colors and fell off.