Parks Halloween 2009

A new blog post is long overdue. So much so that even my husband has noticed. But that, folks, is a sign that basketball season is here! That, and the fact that it now gets dark at 6pm. BOOOOO. But here’s a rundown of what’s been going on for the past month.

1. We had a few "cold fronts" blow through. We even got to wear long sleeves and pants once or twice. Not so much anymore...it got back to the mid-80's quickly...which is why I love Florida so much:)




2. TJ caught the H1N1 virus (aka swine flu)...surprise surprise. My poor child catches everything it seems. I innocently took them to get their seasonal flu shots one Saturday morning and by the evening he had a temperature that he couldn’t/didn't shake for a week. After his temperature spiked to 103.9 on Monday night we took him to the pediatrician on Tuesday and they diagnosed it. We were all put on Tamiflu and needless to say they enjoyed a week of ‘vacation’ from school spending quality time with Mommy and Daddy. Luckily the “only” symptom that he had was a fever. He never stopped running around and playing and being “upbeat” so that was great. Olivia, miraculously, only had a slight fever for day. Usually whatever one gets the other catches, but not this time. Glad that’s over.

3. The day TJ as diagnosed, was the day before we were to leave for Star’s wedding in Charlotte. What timing! It was a crazy week at work because Terry and I split the responsibility of staying home with the kids b/c I was in a training class that I couldn’t miss. We switched off half days…I worked in the mornings and he worked in the evenings. (Which, I must say, one could get used to). I reluctantly headed for Charlotte leaving my husband with the one sick kid and one potentially sick kid, but he insisted that he had it under control and I could NOT miss this wedding (I really like that boy). He was right. The kids and Terry had such a good time while I was gone! When I got home the kids were healthy, happy and the house was clean! Good job, Daddy Parks, Jr! (Sidenote: My kids think that “Jr.” is a part of our last name. Olivia’s name is officially “Olivia Janae Parks, Jr." TJ’s name is, rightfully so, "Terrence Raysean Parks, Jr." …and my name is "Mommy Parks, Jr.")

So Star’s wedding. WOW. I had a such a great time hanging out with Star and Carmen! We ran errands in the mall, Michaels and Harris Teeter, fixed up her cupcake stand, helped her with her centerpieces, straightened up a little bit around the house…and on the day of the wedding we made countless trips back and forth to the church 30 minutes before her wedding started because she kind of needed her bouquet and jewelry for the ceremony...it was the least we could do. The wedding and reception was beyond beautiful (I’m pretty sure Star should be in event planning or something). It was just a great few days. Knowing that TJ was feeling better helped me relax and enjoy the time away. I was able to get back home by Friday afternoon and I still had the weekend to enjoy with my family. Good times.



4. The next weekend Gma and Gpa kept the kids so Terry and I could enjoy some time together on this last free Saturday (except for the ones after Thanksgiving and Christmas) until mid-February thanks to basketball season. We had a good time spending time together in Orlando. We made our inaugural trip to the IKEA store…yeah…never again! We walked around the Mall at Millenia and happened upon their version of Fashion Week! We saw our first runway show which was pretty fun and just enjoyed the atmosphere. After about 10 laps around the mall we went back to our hotel/resort, which we really loved, and ate lunch before playing our complimentary game of golf on their 9-hole, par 3 course. (I don’t think I’ll be on any LPGA golf tours anytime soon!). It was especially fun watching Terry, who plays golf pretty regularly during the off season, play with clubs that were meant for someone 7 inches shorter that he is. That’s what happens when you have to use the complimentary clubs at the resort... After playing golf, we checked out a basketball and shot around on the basketball court on property...fun:) We ended the evening watching Auburn and Florida football. It was a great day, except for the Auburn loss. We ate breakfast the next day at Mimi’s Café (love it!) before going to pick up the kids from Gma and Gpa’s house. Thanks Gma and Gpa...I don't know what I'd do without them:) Really...

5. We had planned on heading home when we picked up the kids after our weekend in Orlando, but Dad mentioned that he wanted to take the kids down to South Florida to his family’s house. The kids have actually never met my paternal grandmother (their great-grandmother) or most of their 10 aunts/uncles and countless cousins so we took the opportunity to make a trip down South with the kids. They had a great time playing with Dad and one of their 2nd cousins in the yard. They played catch, “climbed” palm trees and just ran around having fun. Most importantly my grandmother got a chance to meet them and enjoyed our company. Again, a great day.




6. So, now we come to yesterday, Halloween. A holiday that I’ve never particular gotten into, even as a child. I was never a fan (and still am not) of purposely being out in the darkness so trick or treating was never “my bag”. Keeping that in mind, the last two years of the kids’ lives that we could have participated in Halloween/costume activities, I just haven’t gotten around to it. And they were too young to care. But this year, I figured they would enjoy it so I made it a point to do something with them. My sweet coworker brought in two homemade costumes that she made for her kids (now 12 and 15) so I was all set. Terry had a game in less than 30 minutes from where my parents lived so we came to Gma and Gpa’s house for the weekend. Gma and I took the kids to a little pumpkin patch at the First United Methodist Church in Deland and they loved seeing all of the pumpkins.






They, of course, tried to pick up the biggest pumpkin there...and had fun playing with the "baby pumpkins". A cool thing is that, as usual, I was representing Auburn University with one of my many t-shirts cute and a mother of 3 (1 girl and 2 younger twin boys) asked if I went to Auburn. Her parents both graduated from Auburn and she grew up in Columbus (Terry’s hometown). What a small world! But eventually we picked 2 out and were on our way. We stopped to a few stores on the way home and then went home for lunch and a nap. Unfortunately for the kids (but of course I didn’t care), they napped right up until we were to leave for Terry’s game so we didn’t get a chance to dress them up in their costumes or attend any of the Trunk or Treat activities that we had planned on taking them to. Instead we put their Halloween t-shirts on and headed to Terry’s game…late :(



We picked up Tara and headed to Daytona with Mickey, Minnie, their orange and purple plastic pumpkins and baby pumpkins in tow. We arrived to Embry Riddle at halftime (i.e. LATE) and sat on the front row with our pumpkins and proceeded to have a “Reverse Trick or Treat”! We had so many people (who looked as if they were grandparents themselves) walk by with bags of candy and drop little goodies in the kids’ pumpkins. One guy gave them each $1. (Which is not the 1st time this happened. The day we got the pumpkins we went out to lunch and some random couple eating in the restaurant put $1 bills in their pumpkins). They are not candy eaters so I didn’t let them eat anything, but they really enjoyed getting treats in their pumpkins! Thanks ERAU fans! The kids had a blast during and after the game with Tara and Gpa..





During the ride home they noticed a star in the sky and that sparked the beginning of a mini-concert that my sister absolutely loved. They started with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, moved onto the alphabet song, then Itsy Bitsy Spider, Bah Bah Black Sheep and, finally, Wheels on the Bus. Overall it was a great Halloween even though the kids didn't get to dress up.

So that's a rundown of the past month or so in the Parks Household. Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! Hopefully I can get another blog in before Thanksgiving! We shall see!