Santa & the Easter Bunny

Parker hasn't sat on Santa's lap in a couple of years. Santa still has this unknown feeling of being with a "stranger", and Parker was okay to go up to him and talk but, not really sit on his lap and linger awhile like a lot of children.

However, this year was different. A gentle Santa coaxed him to sit awhile and chat.
They talked about the reindeer's, toys and gifts and whether or not he had been a good boy.

Parker told Santa that he and the Easter Bunny were the Best!

Darn Weiner!

We recently did a Gingerbread house with a friend of mine and her daughter, Molly. We purchased extra candies to create our Gingerbread House and decor! The kids had so much fun creating, and our "house" is complete with a garden and a football field.

Our dog also liked the Gingerbread house too!!!!!!!!! Yes, we "allowed" our weiner dog, Chuck, to stay loose in the house while we were at church. (one Hour max) and when we got home....there were some pieces missing on the Gingerbread house.....both footballs were missing!! Parker's favorite thing is the footballs!

I just could not figure out where they would have gone!!!! I was seriously thinking we had a major critter in the house!!!! But NO! Later, we saw the culprit in action! Chuckles, can jump up on a chair, if that chair isn't fully pushed in up to the table, and then he jumps from the chair to the table. Yep, helped himself to a little Scooby Snack! Thank God! I was seriously thinking Rat!! What will I do with this dog?? :) Our dog, Charlie.

Here Comes Santa Claus

We went to have breakfast with Santa Saturday morning at a church in town. They had crafts, breakfast, snacks, prizes, story time, bingo...etc. You could leisurely make your way around the room enjoying each activity. You could spend time with Santa just talking without much of a waiting line. Very pleasant experience.

Then, a few days later, Santa was at the mall (different Santa) and Parker waved to him. Santa said "would you like a candy cane?" and, of course, Parker did! So he walked right up to him and took the candy cane and he said "Santa, why didn't you eat breakfast with us Saturday?" The guy was totally confused but he said "Well, because I ate breakfast with Mrs. Claus". Smooth cover! Then later in the car he said "Why did Santa have on different boots and no glasses?"

I said " his eyes got tired from reading all those letters to Santa Claus from little boys and girls" and about the boots: " you have different shoes don't you? Well, Santa has different boots!"

Whew! That was close! :)

Where does he come up with these things??

Parker has a best friend at preschool, his name is Zack. And Zack is hispanic.

Parker asked one day if I would get him one of those beds so that he could be the same color as Zack! One of "those" beds??? What are we talking about?

Oh! A tanning bed! No, honey you cannot go tanning!

Election Day

I took Parker with me this morning to vote. He had many questions about the machines and what I was doing.
Our township is voting on a new park for our little town.
And Parker wanted to know how I voted on the park:

He said "Mom, what did you vote for to put in the park?"

I said "Parker, we are voting on whether or not to have a park....not what kind of equipment goes in the park."

Parker: "Oh, because I really want monkey bars!" :)

The Comb-Over

We have been encouraging Parker to decide certain things for himself in order to encourage "leadership" skills in preparation for Kindergarten next year.

Keeping that in mind, we let Parker choose his clothes, hairstyle and shoes, among other things. And if you've ever watched a preschooler dress themselves, there are days when they come up with crazy ensembles. He loves to wear his pajamas because most of them have Super Heroes on them. (Does that make me a bad mom?)

Anyways, Parker loves to watch Disney's Handy Manny. Its a cute program about Manny, a repair man that owns his own business in a friendly town called Sheetrockhills. Manny's repair shop is right next door to Mr. Lopart's candy store.

One day we were making appointments for our haircuts and Parker told me he wanted to grow his hair out and wanted it to look just like Mr. Lopart's hair.

This could be a problem.....Mr. Lopart has a comb-over!

A Hero

Today marks an anniversary of a fallen hero...

One year ago, we lost a dear man~ Father, Grandpa, Fire Chief, Hero!
I saved this story specifically for today to pay tribute to his memory and to let you know that Parker misses him too! Parker looks up to this hero and wants to be just like Grandpa!

On with the story....

Parker's babysitter / girlfriend, Stephanie, loves to pick on him. These two go back and forth even though there is 15 years between them in age.
One day Parker was being especially ornery to Stephanie. They were teasing each other and he decided he had to go to the bathroom. Stephanie held the bathroom door shut so that he couldn't get out once he finished. And Parker really thought the door was locked and yelled for us to get the key. Well, we told him that we didn't have the key anymore. And so, being the Fire Chief's grandson, he yelled " I Need An Axe!"

This day is filled with memories of Dad and he lives on in our hearts and in our minds!

Construction Zone

Recently, there has been major amounts of construction on our route to Parker's preschool.

And one day, Parker said to me that he would like to remember to place his telescope in the vehicle that we drive everyday to school. And I asked him why he would like to keep the telescope in there.
Well, he wanted to see the construction workers better from his carseat.

Okay, fine with me! So we're driving along and he has the telescope extended out BUT, he's looking through the wrong end.

And if you've had a conversation with a 4 yr old lately, You ARE WRONG! He is RIGHT! ALWAYS!

~The End~

Best Mom Award

Once a month, I attend a Mom's meeting at church. We get together and discuss things like nutrition, kid games, and mostly we just encourage each other with our parenting struggles.

Last night was my night to go....and usually Parker will fuss a little about my leaving. (He uses techniques to get extra attention.) For those of you more clinical, we'll call it "separation anxiety". He starts out asking questions like "Why are you going there?" "When will you be home?" and so on...

So, I told him that I was going to my Mom's meeting to become a Better Mommy!

Parker responded, "But you're already the Best Mom I've ever had!"

The Girl in the White Dress...

We attended the wedding of a friend, over the weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony and we had a nice time enjoying the flowers and music.

Parker was star-struck over the bride, Mindi. But he wouldn't call her "the bride" or "Mindi"...he referred to her as The Girl In The White Dress!

Mindi was beautiful! Her dress was white satin and very elegant.

Once we were at the reception and the bridal table had gotten their food...Parker said " I wish that "Girl In The White Dress" would come sit next to me! "

He was stargazed with her beauty and wanted nothing more than for this woman 6 times his age to come sit with him at dinner, on her wedding day, of all days.

SPEED . . .

I got a speeding ticket recently. I am "experienced" at this so its not a big deal anymore. I really dislike parting with the funds but, what can I change now?

Parker was in the back seat....paying attention to everything. He noticed the nice State Trooper had a gun and badge. He was wearing a hat. He listened to all he had to say.

While the nice State Trooper went back to his cruiser, Parker had several (couple hundred) questions. "Are you going to jail?"; "Mom, why does he have a gun?"; "Is he going to use the gun?"

I autographed the ticket and the n-i-c-e State Trooper offered my copy and told me to be careful pulling out. (SMILE)

Parker was fixated on the ticket...."Mom, is that the ticket?" (with a really confused look). I replied "yes". And he expected the ticket to be smaller, like the kind you get at the movies!

Touch The Soft

Parker cannot control himself when he sees something soft. He must touch it. I think its a comfort thing and I have to say that he probably gets it from me.

I have a few quirks....who doesn't???

When I get laundry out of the dryer....as I fold it...I just cannot resist smelling the laundry. So What! It smells good and its nice and toasty warm. Such comfort!

Back to Parker...
When we are in church and they pass the offering plate, the bottom of the plate is lined with velvet or some soft material. Parker has to touch it! He cannot resist. And he'll tell you: "Touch the Soft!"

People in church probably wonder why our son is pilfering through the offerings.....is he making change??? No, he just wants to feel the plate. Touch The Soft!

Dancing With The Stars

On several occasions, Parker and I have stayed up to watch the TV Show, "Dancing With The Stars".

Parker loves to comment on the ladies and their clothing. He thinks that the open-back dresses are the prettiest. We watch them twirl around and move gracefully. He liked to watch Laila Ali in particular.

We went to dinner as a family one night, and a group of students (probably attending Prom), came in the restaurant about the same time. Parker was so delighted that they were seated close to our table. They were dressed in long gowns and tuxedos.

He leaned over to me and said "Mom, I think they are from Dancing With The Stars!".

First Airplane Ride

We decided to take a trip to Orlando! This would be Parker's very first airplane ride.

He was very excited, to say the least!

We brought "the regular" grandma along to experience Parker's first trip to Disney, and we were all looking forward to a vacation. When our airplane taxied up, we were watching out the window and the excitement was building! Parker was just beside himself with joy!

I've seen him excited before, but not like this. He was wide eyed, and smiles and clapping. He just couldn't wait to board this plane.

Parker was sitting between grandma and myself, and we were waiting for our seat category to be called in order to line up and board the plane. And that's when he said it...

Parker: "We're going to fly up into the clouds and we'll be able to see grandpa!"

(Grandpa had passed away just 6 months prior to this date and Parker was excited to fly up into the clouds to see this man that meant so much to him. We love you grandpa and we miss you!)

The 'Vertible!

This spring, we decided to purchase a convertible. It is some-what my "dream" car. I have not driven it yet but, that is another story in itself. Its a 1976 MG Midget Convertible and it needs lots of love, and after the love, it is going to need lots of care. And after the care, it is going to need lots of attention and ....

you get the picture!

Well, we bought this car on ebay...and we had to trailer it home. Tried to do some of the repairs ourself and it turned out....hmmm...."disasterous" is too strong of a word. We are not mechanics. So, we were left to turn to the professionals. In order to get a professional to look at it, we had to push it back onto a trailer and haul it there.

Parker was disturbed that the "vertible", as he calls it, was not going to be staying at our home. And we felt we had no other choice in order to get the car running. So we proceeded to push it onto a trailer one day. It is a ity-bity car but, it still weighs 900 lbs. But, my husband thought we could do this ourselves. What a sight!!

I'm in the car to steer/guide it onto the trailer and Barry is pushing it....with Parker's "help" and we cannot push this teeny-weeny car up the ramp. So, our neighbor, Uncle Denny, comes over to help. (he was in the yard and saw these 2 fools trying to give themselves a hernia). So he comes over and says "do you want me to pick it up and place it on the trailer". (Another crack at how small this car is.) Well, he found out it weighs more than it looks. So attempt #2 involves him, and all of his girth, pushing with all his might, and the car starts to roll backwards at him once it reached a certain point on this ramp. He exclaimes, "this matchbox almost ran over my fat ass!" Not only for our ears to hear, but also for Parker to hear!

Now, whenever anyone mentions the "'vertible", Parker is quick to say:
"One time, Our 'vertible almost ran over Uncle Denny's Fat Ass!"

Becoming A Man

Parker came home from preschool one day, and we were all eatting dinner. And he asked Barry and I for a "Gameboy"! No doubt, he had seen someone at school playing with one. Anyways, we said "put it on your Christmas list."

During dinner, Parker then asked us if he liked beer? It came so out of the blue, that my first response was to I say "open one and see!". Knowing how much he dislikes carbination and the obvious gross taste of beer, I had my doubts he would like it. So he continued to grab a can from the fridge and we helped him open it. He took one swallow and his face said it ALL! He did NOT like beer!

Well, after Parker had finished eatting, he wanted to watch TV so he went into the living room and asked his dad where the remote was. (big smile on his dad's face)

Today his son became a man!
Parker had asked for the latest electronic, he asked for a beer, and he asked for the TV remote! Barry could not wait to call his brother and gloat about his son becoming a man at age "4."

Asian Beef

Last night, I made a new dish for dinner....at first, Parker didn't want to try it (of course). We want him to at least try a couple bites before determining that he doesn't like some foods.

And we withheld brownies until he at least tried it.

....he liked it so much he said "Mom, will you make this for all my meals!".

Must have been good if he wants it morning, noon and night!!

Earliest Memory

Okay, I'm trying to remember the earliest, "funny" thing that Parker has done. And the story that comes to mind is: The Wet Kitchen...

My husband, Barry, was working an hour from home, at the time, and he often called home during his commute to catch up on the day. Parker was 2 yrs old and always wanting to "help" in the kitchen.

Well, on this particular day, he wanted to help with the dishes. So, I gladly put him on a chair at the sink. He splashed a little and fiddled around. And that's when my husband called.

Parker was being a little loud, so I decided to step into the next room to hear Barry better. We talked for maybe 15 minutes, and all the while I could hear that Parker was happy, talking to himself, singing, etc. What I didn't know was that he found the sprayer on the sink and decided to spray down the toaster, windows, curtains, dishes inside the cupboards, and anything else in the distance-range that caught his eye.

I used every single towel in the house to clean up the watery-mess! And once Barry was home he thought a pipe had burst in the kitchen....."No, honey, this was just Parker's idea of "helping" in the kitchen."

In The Beginning...

I know that its the biggest cliche, but my son means the world to me! I am a tell-it-like-it-is mommy with stories to tell about my son, Parker. You'll laugh, and you'll cry!

I'll never forget the first day I saw him, during the birth. I'm sure I wanted to cry out with joy but, I also wanted to remember this moment and "keep it real". Clearing my throat..."I just had a baby!", I exclaimed. It's a Boy!