Halloween!

Here they are!

Unicorn Fairy Princess and Red Power Ranger

Really sweet chili pepper

Miles had to have his costume on earlier in the day, when smiles were more apt to happen. :)

For a picture of Audrey in another costume today, click here to see her blog.

Happy Halloween!

Computer Geeks

I have a sinking feeling that we are raising computer nerds. Television is not ever a problem or a temptation for our kids. In fact, we only ever watch it once the kids are in bed. It's that darned computer. We severely limit computer-playing time around here or some people, namely Parker, would play all day. It's pretty funny to watch his little fingers as he uses Neal's thinkpad thingy on the laptop. He's amazingly coordinated for a 3-year-old. Sometimes when it's time to turn it off, Parker says, "But I love the computer!" (yikes!) My favorite comeback, "But the computer doesn't love you back." We talk about how if you play the computer too much, your imagination starts leaking out of your ears (good one, huh?), and how you don't get any exercise when you play computer games. We're pretty much trying to convince him that the computer is a bad guy, but he's not buying it. He is pretty good about getting off the computer when his time is up, though. On Saturday, his time for the day was over, but Audrey hadn't played yet. Miles just looked so thrilled, I had to snap a picture.

Notice the tongue, PA! Those Barbie.com games can be pretty intense.

Miles for Sophie

Okay, Elliott and Ginger, I'll trade you three pictures of Miles for a few of Sophie. Deal?

The Name Game

I've decided to start a little "meme." I've seen this one before and thought it sounded fun, so here we go! If I tag you at the end, you are to post your answer to this question on your blog, then tag others to do the same. See, doesn't that sound fun?

What did you name your kids and why?

I'll start:

Audrey Mae: I've always loved the name Audrey and chose it years before I actually had a baby. Stephanie and I used to be big dorks and we watched AMC, the old movie channel, for fun when we were young. I suppose it was then that I fell in love with Audrey Hepburn and her beautiful name. It evokes such a vision of elegance and grace, qualities any girl would love to be associated with, that I thought it would be a name my daughter would like. It wasn't too difficult to convince Neal that it would make a good name for our baby girl. He just wanted to be sure that she "wasn't named after a movie star." Her middle name, Mae, was derived from Neal's grandmother May Ella Jackson, and her mother, Ella May Riddlesperger. Plus, Audrey Mae just sounded like a perfect name for a little red-haired girl from the South.

Parker James: Parker wasn't too difficult a decision either. Parker is my maiden name and we thought it made for a cool, modern, masculine-sounding boy's name. James is taken from both sides of our family. Neal's grandmother's name was Genevieve James and James Rowland Parker is my great-great grandfather's name. He lived in Missouri, served in the Civil War, and moved his family across the country to California in the mid-19th century. We reversed his name, James Parker, to get Parker James.

Miles Jefferson: Miles was our other boy option when I was pregnant with Parker. We've always liked it. It's classic, easy to spell, and not too common--just our kind of name. In my family history research, I've discovered a great-great uncle named William Myles Parker. Miles' middle name, Jefferson, is an old name in Neal's family. Jefferson DeCal H. is Neal's great-grandfather's name. In subsequent generations, it was shortened to Jeffie, but we decided to reinstate the formal Jefferson. And, if you recall, you all helped us choose that name for Miles. Thanks for your input. We love it!

If we have another baby (heaven only knows when we'll decide about that one), it will probably be either Elliott or Charlotte.

Okay, I'm tagging Stephanie, Grammy, Charlotte, and Natalie. You girls don't forget to tag someone else! You don't have to tag 4 people, I just wanted to get it going. I love to talk baby names. :) You can tag someone without kids, too, of course. If you're willing to share your list, we want to know what you WILL name your babies. Have fun!

Want Some?

Is there anything yummier than sugar cookies decorated for Halloween?

Here, Audrey is quite alarmed at the amount of sprinkles Parker has applied to one cookie.

Oh yeah, I thought of something slightly yummier: cupcakes.

Google Homepage

Okay, since we've all confessed our mad obsession with checking each other's blogs (and frankly, people, some of you don't update often enough, ahem), I thought I would share what Steph shared with me a few months ago that has made my blogging habits much more streamlined. It eliminates going from link to link to link. Thanks to Mike for showing Steph how to do it.

Make yourself a Google homepage!

Here's what you do:

1. Go go Google.com

2. Click on "Make it your own."

3. Add content. To add someone's blog, click on the little link that says "Add by URL," then type in the blog address and at the end of it, type "/atom.xml" (without the quotation marks). So, if you were to add my blog (which you should), type in (or copy & paste) this:

http://www.flowerchain.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Click on add, then go "back to my homepage" and watch the magic happen! Then bookmark your new homepage. It will prompt you to sign in when you turn on your computer. Now, each time you click on it, you'll see all your favorite blogs at once!

You can add as many blogs as you check (Steph has made tabs specifically for blogs on her homepage.) and instead of checking each one every day, (or multiple times a day, as the case may be), you just go to your Google homepage and see if the posts' titles have changed.

I have mine set up so that I can view 2 posts per blog, that way they don't take up so much room on the screen. I also have things like the weather from all the places where my family lives, Sudoku puzzles (thanks a lot Kristen), my Gmail inbox, NYT headlines, our teeny stock portfolio's quotes, and People.com headlines, which is how I found out this!
(ok, the link might not work. Project Runway judge, Nina Garcia is prego!)

Miles is Famous

Look! Our little Moo is a star. Kate used his picture on her website!

Confrontation

I am scared of confrontation. I don't like it, never have. Ask my mom about it: when Stephanie was a toddler and prone to major tantrums (she's a doll now, of course), I was the first one to just give in to her rather than keep the fight (or noise) going. I mean, I have no trouble saying what I think about things and standing by my opinions in conversation, but when it comes to talking to someone one-on-one about stuff, it's not my strong suit. I usually have to take a deep breath and approach carefully.

When I find out someone might be mad at me for something, I immediately go into major apologizing, smoothing-out mode, just to make it all better. I found out recently that a friend of mine was quite annoyed with something I said and they assumed that I was expecting major favors from them, when, in fact, I wasn't. I am in fact very uncomfortable inconveniencing people. I don't keep people waiting, I'm always on time and I'm one of those who doesn't take very well to being served by my friends. If someone does me a favor, I immediately try and think of something I can do for them or get for them to show my thanks. Words sometimes don't seem like enough, you know? Sometimes, in life, (like a couple of weeks ago when Parker was sick) I've just swallowed my pride and taken what was offered, and have been so grateful for those who insisted.

But this is different. I don't know what to do, but I know I have an icky feeling and I want to fix it. Somebody somewhere is thinking bad thoughts about me and I hate it! I'm trying to apologize casually and nicely, I just want it to be okay.

Sigh. Thanks for listening, my little blog. I would talk to Neal about it, but he's working late today. :)

Texas is Fun

We had so much fun with our company this weekend! Makes us wish Texas, as fun as it is, wasn't quite so far away from everyone else.

This weekend, I was grateful for my big ole Texas-sized car. Five kids, two moms. It was noisy.
If you look really carefully, you can see Miles' face in the little carseat mirror. I just noticed that. heehee

And since it still feels like summer here in Texas, ice cream was on the menu for bedtime snack.

Finding things in the driveway cracks: always a good way to pass the time.

Mabel learned that when you're in Texas, you better dress like it. Pink boots for everyone!

And Miles, well, he was held a lot and today I'm paying the price for that. But we were thankful for the love and I could absolutely eat this baby up.

See how much fun we have down here in Texas? Who's coming next? We're ready for you!

For a few more pictures of the visit, check out Pa's, Stephanie's and Parker's blogs.

Visitors

Guess who's coming to our house today!

Little Miss M

and her charming little brother.

Stephanie and her lovely children are on their way to Texas to see little old us. We're so excited that Audrey has even magically cured herself of whatever was giving her a fever last night. I was planning on keeping her home from school today because she was acting very sick last night (she couldn't even stand up while we put her pajamas on), and this morning, whaddya know? She feels great. Hmmm.

Ladies Who Lunch!

Well, folks, my friends don't listen to me. They threw me a lovely little baby shower today, much to my protesting, but ultimate gratefulness, of course.

Wait, Leslie, isn't this your third kid and second boy? Do you really need a baby shower?

No. I don't, but like I said, my friends didn't listen to me! To quote my friend Allison, who threw the shower, "This is just what people do in Texas!" Oh. I've been known to be publicly annoyed after receiving shower invites for my friends' second and third children. What could they possibly need?

Well, it was a great excuse to meet friends for lunch at a delicious little restaurant. And I was the beneficiary of this little opportunity, or should I say, Miles was the beneficiary.

Thanks Allison and Brooke for the lovely afternoon!

Oh, and I forgot to take pictures.

Project

Today, in between this . . .


and this . . .

and Audrey and her friend who's coming over to play after school, I'm attempting to make some really big green curtains.

Needless to say, it's going to take me a while.

My "Tender Mercies"

I love that Elder David Bednar (of the LDS Church) brought the phrase "tender mercies" into our Mormon lexicon last year in his beautiful conference talk. Lately, my life has seemed a bit crazy, the unexpected has occurred a few times over, and we have come out generally unscathed. But there have been small, seemingly insignificant moments when I have felt the hand of the Lord in my life. We are watched over, our actions are noted, and our problems understood. What a miracle it is, the love our Father in Heaven has for us. He has known us all for a very long time, and can bless us with unimaginable peace, even in the worst times of our lives. After some time and reflection, and through the love of our Lord, those times can somehow turn into some of the best times of our lives. We can hopefully grow closer to our families and more dependent on our faith in Him when we've been tried. This is why we are here on the earth. And I know that to be true. I feel like the luckiest person alive just because I know why I am here and how to get to a better place after this life. It is, after all, so very short and fragile. And I find deep and abiding comfort in my knowledge that MY FAMILY is forever. Neal will be with me forever, my kids will always be mine, they will always have each other, and Neal and I will always have them, no matter what may happen here on earth.

Read this slowly, a couple of times. It is so inspiring.

Life is So Good

"We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord's tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance (see 1 Nephi 1:20)."

You ought to read the whole talk. Click below! It's beautiful. Thank you Elder Bednar!

( Elder David A. Bednar, "The Tender Mercies of the Lord," Ensign, May 2005, 100)

Kid Books

We have at least 300 children's books in our house. They're pretty much my favorite thing to buy; I can't ever say no when it comes to books, and hence, we have a million. But, they last much longer than toys, and they're usually cheaper, too! We have a very extensive collection, and we love to read! Here is a teeny little sampling:

This is Miles' new favorite thing to stare at. This is the best little book; even newborn babies can see the shapes and there are no words. I flip through it over and over and he loves it! It sends his little arms flailing, legs kicking, and eyes widening. There's another one called "Black on White."

This is Parker's current favorite:

One of Audrey's recent reads:

This is one I really like, especially at this time of year. It's about a little girl who is sent to the store on Thanksgiving to get whipped cream for the pumpkin pie. It has really cute illustrations, and a very simple story.

Happy Reading!

You Will Blog-Surf

Today is a big long stay-at-home-and-get-better-while-it-rains-outside day. Parker is doing a lot better, coughing a bit to get rid of the yucky stuff, and chillin' in his PJs. Since I can't think of anything creative to say, I thought I would share some links to some of my favorite recent posts from OTHER peoples' blogs! Plus, it's kind of fun for me to track my relation (or lack thereof) to these people! Have fun, if you haven't seen these yet:

My little Audrey likes to play the piano.

Parker loves superheroes like Superman.

My elder bro, Elliott posted this, which I find extremely hilarious, especially if you're a Mormon.

My sister, Stephanie, is a really good mom.

You have got to see my brother, Lincoln, bust a move.

My other sis, Julianne, takes incredible photographs of her world travels. See them here and here.

Ginger, my sister-in-law, is pregnant and weepy.

My friend, Natalie, will make you a better person.

Oh dear, my friend Mrs. Dub is funny.

Sometimes, my old roommate Rachel, gets really bored.

My parents took on an epic cruise across the North Atlantic from Denmark to NYC.

Neal's sister, Charlotte, is writing a book for girls about a young girl who converts to Mormonism in the early years of the Church. Oh, and her super hip yet classy house is going to be on HGTV.

My brother's sister-in-law, Jenny's little boy is so glad he doesn't have to give birth.

Ginger's sister, Judy, takes really beautiful pictures and so I'm really sad we don't live by her in California anymore.

My friend Audra makes really pretty scrapbook pages!

My other friend, Tara, has a dramatic little girl on her hands.

My old roomie, Kristen, who is pregnant, almost threw up in church.

I don't know this girl, but I like her blog and she is related to Mrs. Dub. And her 4-year-old drank beer. This post is funny, too.

He's Home

Parker is home! The doctor who came on duty this morning thought that as long as his oxygen levels were above 92, and he was eating and drinking, that he was fine to go home. We were discharged in what seemed like record time for a hospital, and Parker is home safe and sound.

We need to watch him carefully for the next few days for worsening of symptoms, but the doctors think it's all going to clear up on its own over the next little while. Thank you all for your prayers and notes of concern. We love our little Parker and we know you do, too.

Phew.

Parker had the largest hospital room we've ever seen. He and Miles look teeny in it! (That's Miles on the couch by the window.) Parker's favorite part of his hospital stay: "going to sleep" and Cartoon Network

Parkie Update

Well, Parker's doing better tonight. Thank goodness. He had some more chest x-rays at the Children's Hospital, and it turns out he has fluid in his lungs and a bit around the outside of them, too. Apparently, it's not too uncommon, when you have pneumonia. He was in much better spirits and seemed to feel a whole lot better. The big red power ranger toy may have helped, too. When I left the hospital at around 10 pm, his oxygen levels were staying higher with less oxygen from the tank. Hopefully tomorrow, they'll be able to take him off of it and see how he does for a few hours. We're hoping he'll be home by the afternoon.

Special thanks to Dr. Jay for returning to the hospital after a long day to assist in a very tender and appreciated priesthood blessing. Thank you, Jay. We're so glad to have friends like you and Natalie.

Here are some pictures from tonight. Parker and Audrey were very happy to see each other. They just laid on the bed and watched cartoons for a little while. I think it was good for Parker to be close to her, give him a sense of normalcy at the end of his very crazy day.

I'm off to have a bowl of cereal and try to get some rest. We'll see about that. I'm not crazy about this part-of-my-family-at-the-hospital idea. Luckily, Audrey is keeping me company in my bed. :)

And just for good measure, here is Miles, who, as of today's check-up, is ten whole pounds of pure fluff.

Prayers for Little Parker

Thank you all so much for your very sweet comments on the last post. You made me feel great, on a not-so-great day.

Parker has pneumonia and is in the hospital tonight. He was having trouble breathing yesterday and today, so that's the best place for him to be for a little bit. They're giving him oxygen and antibiotics, and will be until sometime tomorrow, hopefully not longer than that. He's had a fever and cough for a few days, but today it just got worse kind of quickly. He was breathing really fast and shallowly, and it was kind of scary. His blood's oxygen levels won't stay high enough unless he's getting the oxygen from the machine. He got to go in an ambulance from the doctor's office to the hospital, just so he could have oxygen the whole time. No sirens or lights, it wasn't an emergency, but it was pretty exciting, or it will be in a few days when all this is over! Neal's staying with him at the hospital tonight. I just talked to him and he said Parker's watching cartoons and drinking orange juice, his favorite. Audrey, Miles and I are on our way to see him. Poor little guy, he's really sleepy, kind of fainty, and if you've ever had that feeling, you know it isn't fun.

You may think I'm crazy to blog about this, but I can't get a hold of my parents, who are on their way home from New York. Maybe they'll check this before their messages. Call me Mom and Dad!

Parker's going to be fine, but prayers for his speedy return to regular old 3-year-old life would be appreciated. Thank you!

Let's See . . .

What shall I wear today? I know! I'll just wear my baby!

Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, Charlotte, Miles and I are now enjoying a baby sling! She was so crafty and generous to make me one from scratch! I love the fabric, and Miles has successfully fallen asleep all snuggly in the sling at least twice. I was even able to enjoy my trip to the grocery store last week. No more holding in a binky while Miles rides in a teetering carseat on the shopping cart that I can't push in a straight line with one hand! (how's that for a run-on sentence?)

Charlotte has a way of making things I treasure. She made me an heirloom temple pouch when I was married to her baby brother and beautiful little bonnets for my babies' blessing days. I'm so lucky.

Thank you, my dear Charlotte. I love it.

Audrey

I know, I know, my blog has been totally kid-centered lately, but hey, so is my life. Well, I couldn't resist Audrey while she was chatting with me yesterday afternoon. I was feeding Miles and she was being so silly, I sent her for the camera. Here's what I got. Elliott, you've got me thinking about Christmas '09 (when I could afford it!) and what I might want . . .

Conferences

So fall Parent-Teacher conferences were this week. I met with Audrey's teacher and heard the now-familiar "I have no concerns about Audrey" that I've heard from her past two teachers. I think she's a great kid and a teacher's dream. Her teacher said Audrey is helpful to her friends, helps explain things to them and tries to help them read. She couldn't believe that Audrey can write sentences with correct punctuation, when three kids in her class couldn't even hold a pencil the first week of school. Did I dare tell her that over dinner Audrey tells us about the teacher's spelling mistakes, like the time Mrs. Marroquin spelled 'firefighter' wrong and then wrote 'doctor' with an "e" on the chalkboard? Nope. And yes, I am slightly concerned about her teacher's spelling sense.

Parker's teacher has discovered my little boy's inherent sweetness and tenderness. So of course, she loves him. She raved about how nice he is to all the other kids, how he's so laid back that he doesn't even retaliate if someone snatches a toy out of his hand. He just says, "It's okay, they can have it." And of course she's impressed with how smart he is. When they talked about their bodies, he already knew all sorts of things about bones and skeletons and the other kids just stared at him like he was crazy. (It's the mummy obsession, I think.) He's the oldest one in his class, and so she said she thinks he often wonders what's up with the younger ones, when it's potty time and they're wearing pull-ups.

Overall, I was quite pleased with what the teachers had to say this week. I have great kids.

Not good for the "budget"

So the Gap family of stores has a new one, and there's a shop near my town. Good thing Miles hates shopping, or I might be on my way. Check out their pretty things here.

"Budget" is in quotes for a reason. (I stink at them.) And speaking of looking good . . .

Your "luke"

Your look doesn't have to scream Mom. You have kids for that.

I saw this line on a poster at the mall the other day. I completely agree; I mean we've all seen perfectly-proportioned women totally skew their body shape by wearing things like mom jeans. I'm a firm believer in looking your best; it makes such a difference in how you feel when you've actually tried to put a decent outfit together and put on a little mascara! Let's not fall down that slippery slope of so many moms before us!


If you think you might need help, check out this book by my favorite style gurus, Clinton and Stacy. This book goes into detail about just about every body size and shape for men and women and then tells you what you need to wear to look your best in every facet of your life, from weekend to evening.

For example, I am a "Not Curvy, Average Height," so I should wear things that are fitted with seaming to create the illusion of a feminine figure, necklines that show a little skin (within reason and G standards, of course), and skirts that just hit my knee. There's a section for those who are "bigger on top," "bigger on bottom," one for "extra curvy," "a little extra in the middle," etc., and they're all broken down into three height categories, petite, average and tall.

And then there's all the same stuff for men, whether they're short, barrel-chested, athletic, etc.! Neal is an "average," so he should look for proper fit in the shoulders of suits, especially, and pants with NO PLEATS (a universal rule), among other things. OR he could just wear scrubs every day.

This book is obviously a very valuable tool, if you care to take the time to look your best. I leave it on my coffee table so I can share the wealth with friends who stop by. LOVE it!

boo hoo for growing up

Ok, I'm now ready to accept comments about A) how old Parker looks now and B) how much he looks like young Guggle Lincoln (in my opinion, but don't you think, fam?)



I took these pictures of him today, in preparation for the much better ones Natalie will take of him soon. (He was great, Natalie, as long as I kept him talking.)

Math of Sorts

SICK baby
+ TIRED ME
____________

No energy for blog

For Pa

We love you, PA! More pictures of your adoring fans to come.

And let's hear it for the Astros while we're at it! (They almost made it to the playoffs . . .)