Good McLean Fun

My rockstar sunglasses from Walmart make me feel cool, but don't be fooled. This is the face of a tired mom, concealer carefully covering puffy eyes from last night's tears and dark eyeliner and pink lips to distract from the weariness of motherhood.  It is a very emotional journey, this thing we call mothering. When you lose your cool, when you buckle under the neediness of your children, when at the end of the day and all the kids are in bed, and all you can do is cry because of the many  mistakes you made before the sun set, you just feel like God must've made a mistake for trusting you with those gentle hearts, go ahead and cry for a few minutes.  But then, remind yourself that God has grace even for foolish moms like us.  I am here to testify, God is good and faithful, even in the middle of your struggle right now, he is already preparing a path through the wilderness and streams through the wasteland for you. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼  Want to know what that ...

Hey team. Life’s been crazy. Surprise surprise. Everyday there are close to 12 stories I could share that would be entertaining, terrifying, or tragic. But then I get tired and it’s the end of the day and in a few short hours we start all over again. And by the time I think to type something up, 1,405 other stories have already come and gone, and without cataloging them, they’re erased from my mind. It’s probably for the better--if I shared all the yucky, horrible, beautiful, wonderful, terrible things that happen in our world daily, it’d be too much for most. For your sake it’s better that I forget almost instantaneously what happens in my life. I’ll just start rambling and see what comes out. (Warning: I’ve just read through it and it’s a bit of a pity-party. So if you’re having a rosy, lollipop-of-a-day, don’t keep reading and ruin it.) There's a storm brewing. School is out. Luke, my baby, turned 10. And I think I’ve gained about 5 pounds in 5 days. I don’t know how that...

You know how they tell you time goes by faster when your older? It's totally true. I turned 33 last week. Days melt into weeks, weeks into months, and suddenly I have a 9 year old, I'm in the PTA, and I found a shiny thing on my head the other day that I'm told is called a gray hair. Days into weeks, weeks into months, and suddenly I'm 30freaking3. I know you guys read this looking for just a quick glimpse into what's going on with us, but it's so hard to condense everything into a snapshot. I need to write more often. I need to do a recap of my sister Julie's wedding weekend, but jumping back into my blog after MONTHS of being away, I feel ill-equiped. Tonight I just have so much on my brain-- I think I'll start small. I'll start with just a recap of today. 5am: Levi (19months) wakes up (crib still in our bedroom) and I bring him into bed to nurse and perhaps buy myself some more time in bed. *he only nurses morning and before bed... I am a...

Summer is here! Five children home and accounted for! Did I mention having twins is challenging? Did I mention having twins on the autism spectrum is even more challenging? Did I tell you we finally got brave and removed their crib rails? So they can roam about the room freely? Dumping drawers of toys and jumping on each other and removing mattresses and slamming doors? :) Did I mention potty training ASD twins is really super fun? AND REALLY GROSS?? Well just in case I didnt....it is. IT IS! I will try to sum up our summer so far but I will tell you right now, this post will not read smoothly. My mind is as jumbled up as our calendar. We finished up a great school year, Luke is changing from adorable to handsome before my eyes. He's smart and funny, albeit easily distracted and many times unfocused.   We really wanted to get the kids involved in some activities this summer, and because my Jamberry biz has been such a blessing, it's given us enough money each month to c...

So many things.   Where to begin?  First me. :) I’m keeping my schedule busy, because that’s what Parkers do. I joined 3 different bible studies and after I drop the kiddos off at school, Levi and I head off to a different study on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. I am loving singing in church choir and on the praise team, which rehearses Wednesday nights and now Saturday mornings getting ready for Easter.   I’m signed up to teach the preschool music for VBS this summer, I serve on my sorority alumnae chapter’s exec board (although admittedly do next to nothing in my ‘office’), and I’ve recently told the PTA at the kids’ school that I can serve on the board if needed.   I’ll attend next Monday’s meeting to check it out.   J FUN! I don’t know why. I just see a vacancy in my calendar and I want to fill it! I just enjoy being busy, I don’t like empty calendars. Ryan is the exact opposite, he does not want to see a busy schedule. So we compromise. I don’t...