Life is a Blur

I think I need to change the name of my blog from "The Parker Family Blog" to "Life is a Blur". I swear, it seems so much is always going on and I'm either too tired or too forgetful to blog about it. Is it always going to be this crazy?

Anyways, as I type this latest blog, I'm looking at my sweet little T3...he had a low-grade fever this weekend and I thought it was allergies, but it turned out to be strep. Yuk. T3 and I enjoyed a relaxing sick day together at home on Monday, and we added T2 to the mix on Tuesday. After many restful hours of watching movies and sleeping, I decided the boys needed fresh air so I took them to the park to ride bikes Tuesday afternoon. The park is basically a grove of huge trees in which a circular path has been paved for people who want to walk, ride bikes, etc. T2 had his big boy bike (training wheels intact) and T3 had a Spider Man scooter. There was one other person at the park, a gentleman who looked a little scary but turned out to be friendly. Every time T2 saw the man coming his way, he would jump off his bike and run to hide behind the closest tree. He wasn't joking either -- he was scared. I tried to explain that the man was nice, but T2 wasn't listening so I ended up apologizing to the man for my son's hyperactive stranger danger radar. T3, on the other hand, could care less. He was more focused on pushing his scooter along. You know how you ride a scooter by pushing with one leg and then lifting that leg and gliding? Well, T3 hasn't figured out the gliding part, so he just pushed constantly with his right leg. I tried to teach him to glide, as did T2, but T3 wasn't listening. Stubborn Parker boy.

Speaking about T3, I think his hair is turning red. Yes, red! Matt acknowledges the red patches I'm seeing, but he thinks T3 got into something that permanently stained his hair. Doubt it.

T1 is doing great for the most part. We got his report card last week and he got all As again. Woo hoo! I guess the only concern I have is the group of friends he has. They seem normal, I guess...they're polite to Matt and I, fun, friendly, athletic, smart, outgoing, etc. You know, your all-American kind of boys. Unfortunately, they like to go ding dong-ditching and sneak out of the house at night to toilet paper friends' houses. I was talking to a friend from church who said those behaviors are a rite of passage for boys, but I'm not sure. On one hand, I'm scared those behaviors will escalate into something more egregious (like things Matt and I used to do!), but on the other hand I'm wondering if these kids fall in the middle of the spectrum of good and bad. You see T1 has friends who are so well behaved that they've never chewed gum in school, and then he also knows other kids in class (not friends) who are having parties with trash can punch and jello shots. Crazy, huh? Given that, maybe the crew he's hanging out with now are the best fit for him. I just hate the thought of him ding dong-ditching and sneaking out. I guess if I had my way he'd be a likable dork, the kind that everyone likes and respects but wold never attempt to influence negatively. Unfortunately, I think T1 has different plans. He definitely seems eager to live it up with his friends. Heavy sigh...Fortunately, T1 remains close to Matt and I and he is growing increasingly close to God and our church. Maybe those influences will help him consider the consequences of silly seventh grade antics and keep him balanced. Time will tell.