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Back to school is an exciting time for teachers, students and parents alike. Each year brings with it a chance for a fresh start. A new beginning, a clean slate. As parents we want the absolute best for our children. We want them to have the opportunity to learn and succeed in their classrooms while having fun and making friends at the same time. So often in today's world teachers get a lot of flack. Parents are quick to come to their child's defense when issues arise rather than give the teacher the benefit of the doubt or trust that the teacher isn't the "enemy" and is instead trying to do their best to help all their students succeed. Most of the time teachers are meeting 20-30 new students at the start of each school year. Again, a clean slate. Sure, they may have heard whispers or rumors about some of the children, particularly if related to their academic performance or prior discipline record, but for the most part teachers don't know their upcoming...
Like many moms, I'm not a huge fan of starting solids. It's time consuming, messy, and requires a lot of extra attention! Especially with four kids: solids was something I put off as long as I possibly could. Also like many moms, though, I've found that using Baby-Led Weaning makes the entire solids process so much smoother . Considering starting baby-led weaning? Here's my simple guide! Want the best high chair that easy-to-clean? Here's my favorite high chair for Baby-Led Weaning! Want some great food ideas to get you rolling? Keep reading!!!
Spear turned 7 months old on July 1st. I use What to Expect the First Year to see where he's at in his milestones and development and I purchased his monthly stickers here :)
Something that is frequently discussed when it comes to infant adoption is medical history. It plays a role in many stages of the adoption process: How much are you able to know about an expectant birthmother before deciding to present or be matched? How much do you know throughout pregnancy? After birth? Each state varies when it comes to adoption. Even agencies within the same state may differ in their policies and practices. Truly every adoption situation is unique and may or may not be similar to another. After our experience with adoption and the adoption stories I've learned through our journey I wanted to share some of my thoughts regarding medical history when it comes to the adoption process: Going In With Proper Expectations It's common for hopeful adoptive parents to enter into adoption imaging a "Juno" type situation. A young teenage girl who makes healthy lifestyle choices and just can't raise a child. This is not the reality of adoption. ...
For as long as I can remember I've wanted four kids. Both of my parents came from larger families and I loved seeing the way they supported each other and were there for each other into adulthood. Four was my number. My dream. My goal and hope. There were many, many reasons we decided to adopt our fourth baby. And when we made the decision I found that there were many positive reasons beyond even just the obvious ones. A large one for me was that I wouldn't go into a fourth pregnancy. I wouldn't carry a baby for 9 months knowing it was the last time I'd ever have that experience. I wouldn't give birth and cry tears of both joy and sadness knowing that it'd be the last time we'd have that incredible moment. My third pregnancy was my last pregnancy. It was my last time giving birth . My last time nursing a baby from my breast. And I had no idea at the time that it was "the last." I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful I just treated it lik...
This is a summary of Spear's 7th month of life which spanned the entire month of June. He was 6 months old during this month! Eating: Well. The day arrived. It was truly time for me to get my butt in gear and start feeing Spear some solids! I really put it off as long as I could haha. It's not my fav and it's def a stage that makes me glad to be DONE with babies moving forward. One last that I'm not getting teary eyed about for sure! With all my babies I've always used Take and Toss cups for their sippy cups . I've always been happy with how they've held up, how easy they were for the kids to manage, and never had any major issues regarding spills or anything. But I've had SO MANY people swear by the Munchin 360 Trainer that I wanted to try it this time around. Last kid...might as well try out the latest and greatest while I can right? I swear this cup is like invented by aliens. I don't get the science behind it or how it actually works or ho...
I started writing about our meet-up with some of Spear's biological family as part of his monthly update post for his 7th month of life and realized I just had WAY too much to say and it needed to be it's own blog post. Plus, it's a pretty big deal and a post that I may want to reference in the future so it's nice to have it stand alone :) In early June we met up with Mama E and three of her children as well as Spear's birth father's sister. Our adoption is considered an open adoption. Legally all that means is that we have contact after placement. There are closed adoptions which are where the adoptive family has no contact at all or often even knows who the birth family is...and then there are open adoptions which can mean anything from just having that knowledge, to having some contact, to having regular visits. Our official agreement is that we send photos and update letters to the lawyer every month until Spear is 1 and then at 18 months and then...
10 years. 3,039 posts. 8,442,417 post views. This is what 10 years of blogging dedication looks like! I celebrated my 10th blogging birthday this past week ( you can view the post...and GIVEAWAY here. It ends TONIGHT yall! ) and it really is just insane to me that it's been a full decade since I started blogging. Since I focused my 10th year post on the giveaway, I really wanted to take some time today to focus on the blog :) Photo by the incredible Captured by Colson!
Have you entered the big giveaway yet? Don't forget! It ends Monday Night...click here to enter :) Our summer has been IN-SANE yall. We were gone so much that the "weekly posts" are all going to be a bit wonky. For Week 3 of summer Zach was in Ireland and the kids and I were at the Disney house. When we got back from the Disney trip...we had one week until we left for our annual beach trip! I'm thankful when we made our summer schedule that we did have downtime in-between each trip but that also meant that the downtime was truly DOWN TIME. We stuck close to home so I could unpack, do laundry, then repack for the next adventure! This post covered June 22nd through June 29th: our 4th week of summertime!
When Zach and I made the decision to adopt we chose to go the domestic, private adoption route (you can read about some of our reasons why here!) . Today Natasha, from Let's Be Brave , is sharing nine myths about adopting from foster care: I hear these comments all the time. Adopting from foster care is too expensive, hard, heartbreaking, etc. - fill in the blank with whatever you want. And while it’s always good to consider the challenges that will come along with any choice you’re going to make, it’s also important to be properly informed. Below are nine myths I hear all the time about why people shouldn’t adopt from foster care .
Growing up I always loved writing. I had dreams to someday be an author and I have vivid memories of myself sitting in front of our old school Apple computer making up creative stories. I remember when my friend, Rachael, started blogging and I thought it was SUCH a great way to keep track of all of my experiences when I became pregnant with my first baby in August, 2008. So 10 years ago today I started this blog. 10 YEARS guys. That's an entire decade that I've been sharing all of our life moments with you all! :) (Just for fun...here's my VERY first post!) What started as a personal journal of sorts that only a handful of people even knew about, let alone read, has really evolved into so much more. While the blog has grown and changed over the years, I always keep my main purpose for blogging the same as it's always been: a gift for my children to someday have so they can remember all of our family moments together. Along with our personal moments I have loved...
Spear had his 6 month well check-up on June 26th. Our appointment was the first one of the day and yet we were there for almost a full two hours. I have always LOVED our pediatrician but yall. That's crazy! Zach was at the appointment since Spear had shots and we had ALL four kids there since it's summer. 2 hours for the first appointment of the day is just way too long to be waiting! Thankfully we have sweet babies who all did SO well with the wait and entertained themselves and each other. We did end up asking if they could give Spear his shots early since Zach really needed to leave!
Father's Day was very off this year which I feel so bad about but when Zach and his dad planned the Ireland trip they scheduled it where it fell over Father's Day. I really wasn't upset by it because it's Father's Day and Zach was spending it with his dad doing something he loves and as the father of our children I just wanted him to enjoy that day however he wanted! The kids and I enjoyed Father's Day at Magic Kingdom solo ;) We planned to celebrate Zach's Father's Day the week after actual Father's Day. We still devoted an entire day to our favorite dad! We also switched things up this year and did NOT do our annual family golf outing {gasp!}. I do have a ton of guilt about skipping it. I LOVE all the awesome pics each year of our outing and it's a tradition I love that we do every single year. But it's REALLY hot and we have a very young baby and we're at a point with kids where we'd have to have two golf carts and I don...
We finished out our mommy-solo week with an evening at Epcot. Zach actually landed from Ireland that same night but it was good for him to be able to get home and get some SOLID SLEEP and then have us arrive the next morning rather than all of us to get home at the same time. That flight is no joke and I was thankful for all the timing. The downside for me was that we ended with Epcot rather than Animal Kingdom. I didn't stay for the night show at Animal Kingdom but I LOVE Illuminations and wasn't about to skip out on that! So it meant I got VERY little sleep that night as I needed to be all packed up for myself and all four kids from our 9 day trip down there AND have the house all picked up and in order including all the owners items that we leave there etc. It was a LOT to do. But it was all worth it and we really had SUCH a great week! I felt bad because Zach missed us BIG TIME and I felt guilt that really the whole entire week went SUPER smoothly for me solo with the k...
Our last park day of the trip we headed to Epcot! We did the same routine as the day prior. The babies came in the morning then we all came home for lunch and naps and went back in the afternoon with just the 6 older kids, leaving the babies at home. It really all worked out super well! Thanks to Casie's All Things Crafty for the super cute shirts!
Today Tess is FOUR!!! Our sweet little baby girl is growing up quick :) Four years ago today you captured our hearts and have filled our days with joy ever since. 💕 Happy Birthday to our sweet Tessie! 💝
This post originally appeared on Let's Be Brave. I have carried three babies in my womb. I've experienced pregnancy and everything that comes with it. The sweet smiles from strangers, happy chatter, excitedly asked questions. I've had my belly rubbed, the sex of my children guessed, and been given enough advice to fill a book. I've also adopted a child. I've been matched with an expectant mama. I've walked around waiting and waiting for our baby to be born. I've carried the fears and concerns and anxiety around everywhere I went. Fears and concerns that are similar, in many ways, to being pregnant but without the belly to show for it. Having both been pregnant and gone through the adoption process I bring a less-than-common perspective. Most women who have experienced pregnancy won't experience adoption and it's fair to probably guess that most women who experience adoption very likely haven't experienced pregnancy. As I walked around d...
After our fun morning we took naps and ate lunches and headed back to Animal Kingdom but this time without Spear and Cam. Whew it was still super hot but it was SO much less stressful for me to be baby-free! Heading to Nemo!
Real life talk. I have a LOT of "mommy guilt" over the school bus. My hope was to always be able to take my kids to school and pick them up. But then reality hit and school gets out smack dab in the middle of afternoon nap time. And we live in an area where a TON of kids get picked up so the car pool line is crazy . Zach and I talked a lot about it and prayed on it and decided to have our first school-goer (Kye) ride the bus home in the afternoons. We take the kids every morning but they ride it home after school. We now have two kids in elementary school along with a preschooler and infant at home. When we added the new baby to the bunch I quickly realized it wasn't possible to take the older kids to school in the mornings when my husband has to be at work earlier or is traveling for business. We have to leave the house at the same time that the baby has to eat! So now, not only do they ride every afternoon but they also have to ride in the mornings on occasion from ...
First thing Tuesday morning we hit up Animal Kingdom. I am thankful that Courtney's kids aren't super into Disney as they weren't concerned about riding Flight of Passage. Lately Disney has been doing an extra magic morning hour for Animal Kingdom practically every morning in order to allow on property guests to get in early and ride Flight of Passage. I knew with it being an extra magic hour that morning that we'd have no shot at riding FOP but thankfully no one minded! Even with an extra magic hour it's still valuable to get to the park early and be up among the early arrivers so once the non-resort guests are allowed in we can make a mad dash for our first ride (this day being safari). Zach and I are used to getting to the parks early but it can be tough for such a large group of kids to have to sit and wait, especially in the heat. And it's tough for them to understand the reason behind it...it's either wait now OR have to wait in super long lines onc...
When Zach's dad first talked to him about the Ireland trip my heart instantly went out to Zach's mom. Sure, she isn't a golfer. But it would crush me if Zach planned a trip to Europe for his birthday and I wasn't included in his plans! Even if it made sense for her not to go (and I'm sure her feelings weren't hurt in the way mine would be) I still felt bad about it. I talked to Zach about trying to make sure she had some special time too while they were all away. Typically each summer there is also a Parker Family Trip with ALL of Zach's side of the family (his parents, sisters, and all the kids). Zach and I were under the impression that it wasn't happening this year so we thought it'd be nice to invite Zach's mom and sisters down to the Disney House for a few days so his mom could get to have all the grandkids together. Even though the men wouldn't be there, it'd still give her the memories and experience with all of her grandchildre...
Robyn's crew headed out first thing Saturday morning and we had a LAZY day planned. When I made plans for the trip I really wanted to make sure I carved out a couple days for JUST the kids and I. While time with friends and family is always fun, it usually results in adults talking and kids playing. I wanted to make sure I had quality time WITH my kids while Zach was in Ireland. We started our Saturday with a big, yummy cinnamon roll breakfast then had some fun playing games while Spear napped.
Zach headed off to Ireland on Wednesday June 13th. I met up with Robyn at pretty much the same time Zach left to drive down to Orlando. I've never driven my kids solo before for that long of a drive with any of them at this young of ages. I was pretty nervous about it but thankfully Spear is on the 4 hour schedule which means he wouldn't have to stop and eat because we can for sure make it from our house to the Disney House in under four hours! The Ireland Crew!
While the first week of summer recap was covering much more than a single week...the second week is covering much less ;) This post is covering Saturday June 9th through Wednesday June 13th!
Since Zach and I were on our romantic Disney trip the first true week of summer we're kicking off our first official family week of summer the week after we got back: May 31st - June 9th! (Yes, it's longer than a single week ha! I just combined the days we got back with the week following) If you're new around here I typically do a monthly summary post year-round of all of our family fun as well as an individual monthly summary post for each kid. In the summer though? I stick to a weekly post that covers EVERYTHING from that week!
Sorry I've been a tad MIA. But Prime Day has taken over my WORLD! Ha! If you haven't been following my finds be sure to check out this post here :) Yall know I LOVE some Disney movies and having a movie theme day with my kids is something I enjoy putting together and something our whole family enjoys participating in. To kick off summer this year I did an Aladdin themed morning for the girls!
Several years ago we all pitched in for Mother's Day and surprised Mrs Charlotte with family photos, which you can see here. Britt was like 8 months old I think when we had them done. Obviously a ton has changed in 6 years, including adding several grandkids to the family who weren't represented in the family photos! This year for Mother's Day Casey put together having new photos taken as Mrs. Charlotte's combined gift from all of us. Mrs. Charlotte was SO excited to be able to update her mantel picture frame (also another gift we all got her ha!) with updated photos of everyone. She chose for us all to wear navy, gray or white which worked out well because it's colors we all had in our closets! I did end up buying myself a new dress but who doesn't love an excuse for that ;) Casey has had some photos done with Shelley Jean Smith in the past but this was my first time working with her. She's BEYOND sweet and so flexible to meet us at 7:30 in the m...
Our precious Spear turned 6 months old on June 1st! I use What to Expect the First Year to see where he's at in his milestones and development and I purchased his monthly stickers here :) Yall. Has half a year flown by or whhhhhat?!?! I cannot believe it was 6 months ago that he was born!!!
I am a hardcore Babywise mama. I start implementing sleep strategies from birth to help my babies become great sleepers ( Click here for my post on how to start Babywise from birth! ). It's not easy: it takes WORK. When you put in all that work, time and effort and then your baby just isn't sleeping the way you think they should be it's beyond stressful. Sleep issues can be frustrating and it can be tempting to just say "I GIVE UP!" I've learned over my years of parenting that sometimes there are sleep struggles simply beyond our control. Enter in the high sleep needs vs low sleep needs baby.
