Aubrey's Broken Arm

Amidst hearing Alli needed her tonsils out and school coming to an end, Aubrey broke her arm. It was the last Tuesday of the school year and I got a call just as I was leaving to go to school that afternoon. I was literally pulling out of the driveway. Since I already had our AMAZING sitter lined up for the afternoon I ran the younger girls over to her house and then ran to school to pick up Aubrey. She had been playing on the monkey bars after lunch, slipped off and landed pretty hard. Luckily it's what is called a "buckle fracture" so there wasn't really a "break" in her bone as much as there was a bend. Thank goodness for strong bones. It really was a blessing because in kids her age it would have been more common to see a break. But she has my rubber bones! The thing that really got to me was the next day when I picked Aubrey up to go to the orthopedic doc. a mother of a girl in Aubrey's class explained to me what happened. She was dropping her daughter off after taking her to lunch. She took her daughter out to the playground and noticed there weren't any aids outside, in fact, there weren't any adults to be seen. Concerned she waited around for a few minutes, and then realized she was late for work and began to go back inside. It was as she turned around she heard Aubrey scream. She ran over to her and helped her up and into the office.
I was floored! Who sends 90+ first graders outside without any supervision? I really couldn't believe it. The entire wait at the Dr. office I was thinking about how many ways to sue the school. Luckily after a day I calmed down and realized the only one's who would pay for that law-suit would be the kids, in the long run. Thinking back on it and realizing the gravity (no pun intended) of the situation I feel that I should go back to the principal and have a recap of what happened. Luckily, our kids don't go there anymore, but still. Like I said I had a ton on my plate (more on that later).
Anyway, Aubrey ended up wearing a brace for 6 weeks, no cast and she got to play in the water after 3 weeks. What a relief, what a blessing!

Connor's Birtday!

I can't believe I missed blogging about Connor's birthday! To be fair I was in school at the time, as well as being completely overwhelmed by having the kids home from school. I realize that I am supposed to say perfect things like; "I just LOVE having my kids home, it's so much fun!", "Having my kids home is so great, I don't have to worry about getting them to school!". I love my kids but having them home for an entire summer is so overwhelming I get anxious just thinking about it right now.
Anyway...Connor turned 8 this summer. Since we are trying to cut down on spending money for our kids parties we gave him a couple choices. He decided to invite a couple of friends to go to Chuck E. Cheese. He was kind enough to allow Aubrey to tag along because Alli just had her tonsils out. So the best part was that Sean took 4 kids to Chuck E. Cheese all by himself! What a great daddy!
Before they left Connor opened presents and they enjoyed cake and ice-cream. Here are the pictures...not so great after all but I did get some video, too.

I cannot sleep, therefore I blog...

I was thinking about catching up on some past events, however something has really been weighing me down. I have been avoiding announcing this bit of news because it was a hard pill to swallow. Also, I wanted to talk to my mom and step-dad first as they have been my financiers. However, the longer it takes for me to catch my mom the more people ask me how school is going. I have rendered a very generic "I love it, but not enrolled this semester".

I will not be continuing with my cosmetology education. It took me months to come to this decision as I was so committed to following it through to the end and looking forward to being an amazing hair stylist. I loved school, I soaked everything up and retained more information than I ever thought I could (I have been pregnant 4 times). However, there was something lingering over me..Pain. Intense pain, mostly in my back and neck and then during the summer in my wrist (quickly worsening) probably carpal tunnel. So I went to the chiropractor who adjusted me and took new x-rays...not good news. Just since I started school it was clear that my back was in worse shape than it had been in years, partially due to having a baby that was still being carried more then not but obviously being compounded by my new found passion. OUCH! I really didn't want to admit what it all really meant. So, I went on to enroll in a summer semester. In my mind it would be so much better because I was only going to be at school two days a week. By the end of summer semester it was obvious to me that this particular career wasn't the best choice. I also visited another doctor and when I explained what was going on. He kindly expressed his concern and explained what my choices were. I can't believe that I was in such denial, it is so out of character for me.
Looking back I can see that it was out of fear and some issues that came up while I was in school from days long ago...the biggest one being- FAILURE! I was really battling with feelings that I had back when I was in high-school.

Back then I was dealing with more than my fair share of responsibility, stress and work. On top of school I had 3 part-time jobs as a result of that, as well as a lot of stress in other aspects of my life I nearly failed out of school. I constantly told myself "I can't". In my mind I was lucky to graduate from high school and didn't deserve a college education. In the end I did graduate with a cumulative GPA of 3.0. High school made me feel stupid. Only years after graduating did I realize I am smart and I always have been. I was so grateful for Language Arts and Science for helping me to discover my passion for writing, reading and all things science early on. Books and writing were sometimes my only escape and the rules of writing and science were sometimes the only thing logical in my life. Even though I was accepted into college courses as a Jr. (in HS) and scored at the highest college level in the English part of the A.C.T, I still continued to tell myself I was stupid.
I don't know when it began, as far back as I can remember it was part of the dialogue in my mind. I remember trying for the spelling bee as a fourth grader. I studied harder than I ever had in my life and wanted to do it so badly. There was one word I just kept getting mixed up in my mind. I was standing in front of my peers and it was down to myself and one other girl in my class. One last word and I got the dreaded one, the only one I couldn't sort out. Junior. I missed it. The first thought was "I am so stupid". I was so disappointed in myself. I'm pretty sure I cried throughout the entire school spelling bee. Although I can safely say that was the last time I ever misspelled junior.

The one thing I learned about myself when I went back to school this year was that I really am smart, I really can do well in school. I finished my most recent courses with a 3.85, it was actually higher in my lectured courses as apposed to labs. I received an A+ in a general required course. I loved school, which may have been the first time ever.

So, here I sit. Making a new plan and forming a new dream...more to come on that. If you read this whole thing, thank you. I needed to have the weight lifted.

Olivia's Birthday

My baby turned two! As happy as I am to see her growing up into a healthy, active, smart little toddler, there is a part of me that is sad to see her grow up. She has been the best baby ever (well aside from the week in the hospital).

We celebrated with our little family (just the kids, sean and I) and it ended up being really fun! The kids had a blast helping with the decorations, cupcakes and even dinner. For a little anticipation I made them wait until Sean got home from work for the festivities to begin. Here are the pictures...

Happy Fall!

Wow, I can't believe its been a month since my last lame post. To any readers I have left, thanks for hanging around. A lot has changed since I last wrote a decent post. I started working on a new writing project, which I thought would be lucrative however after spending hours writing 2 articles and figuring out the websites publishing tool I decided it was enough, not really worth the time. Especially since I have my blogger where I can post in a few minutes and talk about whats on my mind and going on with my life...which appeases my narcissistic side.

So, what's new with the Parkers? Well school is back in session, which makes me happy. I know somehow that makes me a bad mom, but there is something about knowing my kids are learning that makes me happy. I don't mind the quiet time either.

This year our kids started at the brand new charter school Excelsior Academy. We are so excited about everything they are learning. The class sizes are smaller and their teachers and principal are amazing! Connor actually likes school, again, for the 2nd year in a row (still not a fan of homework, but one thing at a time). And by the way he's a 4th grader!

Aubrey is doing great in school, of course! The only really new thing with Aubrey is a sassy attitude, which at this point I am chalking up to a phase. Connor seemed to go through the same thing at 7, so she has a few more days and then were making it a huge issue. (She'll turn 8 on the 13th). Aubrey was literally singing and dancing the week leading up to school. It's safe to say that Connor and Aubrey continue to be polar opposites. However, there are small glimmers of hope: once in a while they actually play together. At this point its completely random, and usually ends up in both of them getting in trouble together, but what ever keeps them bonding!
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Oh Alli! Ever the camera shy child...as you can see it's very hard to get her to pose!



Alli loves kindergarten. I was worried most about what Alli's teacher would be like because if she stayed at Overlake Elementary she would have had a chance to have the same wonderful kindergarten teacher as Aubrey. I finally decided we would just have all of the kids at the same school and "risk" it. Well, it was the right choice! I knew it was when Alli's teacher sent her a postcard a couple weeks before school. It was such a thoughtful thing and Alli LOVES getting anything in the mail. Her teacher is Mr. Orkiolla and I found out on the day before school started that the other teacher is from Spokane, Wa! So I was pretty happy with both of the kindergarten teachers. Anyway, Mr. Orkiolla is wonderful, and as Alli calls him "silly". The best part was that she is already learning so much! I am so grateful for kindergarten teachers who start of teaching that learning is fun!