Parkes Family

Getting Ready for School I love school and I hope I have passed that down to my daughter. The moment we received our list of school supplies to buy I became giddy and so did she! So many choices, colors, textures, limitless possibilities for what those little crayons, markers and pencils would do this school year!! I have always loved buying things of that nature, my mom said a week before school I would organize and reorganize all of my supplies. I would take them in and out of my backpack stacking them and laying them out. Back to school clothes shopping!? Yes, please! Even when I was teaching I would take myself back to school shopping! Allison was fortunate enough to have two grandmas shopping with her and spoiling her with hair accessories, shoes and darling little outfits she just must have!! I will say I really enjoyed going to consignment stores to find good deals on sweet Kindergarten Catholic school girl appropriate clothing! The Big Day Poor Allison had to come do

Today is a day so sad to those in my family as we remember hearing the breath taking (as in taking your breath away where it makes you collapse to the floor) news of my cousin Jeff's passing from an overdose August 5th, 2008. I wanted to have a safe place where I collect all of what I have written about him and to him here on this blog for fear I may lose my treasured folder of pictures, scraps, scribbled papers, etc. Here is the letter I wrote Jeff while he was in jail on June 18th, 2008, less than two months before he would pass. Dear Jeff,  Where to start... I love you. No matter what. I am trying, but cannot fully imagine what you are going through right now. From what I know- you think that the length of time you're there will help. You know what you need and I hope it works. HOPE. I have lots of that for you and always have. You do know you're the closest thing I have to a brother, right? The body of the letter is more small talk where I share with him abou

I will honestly say, I really underestimated the severity of a tonsillectomy and what it would entail for Allison and me as a mom! I think a big part of this stems from the 'mask of motherhood' where we as mothers are not always completely honest with each other about the challenges we face. Allison's first day consisted of mass liquid vomiting that soaked many couch blankets. I thought she'd be sleepy and we'd just be on the couch as if she was sick. Not quite. She was in and out of sleep coupled with the vomit issue so I was on high alert! She kept throwing up within a half hour of giving her pain medicine, which I was told to not get behind on or I'd really regret it! I didn't want to give her too much to make up for the lost medicine that ended up on my pants and/or on the couch. That day was filled with laundry, doctor phone calls, and wide awake eyes. For the next ten days, Allison would need pain meds around the clock. Every fourth hour she would