I'll call this one . . .

'A Mom and Her Boy on a Ferry Boat Ride Across the River to get a Christmas Tree That is WAY TOO BIG for their house'.


Said tree.'Nuff said? I can't wait to get it out of the house.

My ar-teest

At her art party. Guess how old she is?!

A little too grown up, yes?

Merry Slogmas

I've invented a new word, one that fits me lately:

Slog - A blog slacker. I have good intentions to blog, but am too lazy or time-pressed to do it.

I figured I'd give it one more shot before the new year.

I've been doing lots of gift-wrapping, last minute shopping, and cleaning up.

Mark has accepted a new job IN OUR HOME TOWN! Not in New Orleans, 90 miles away anymore. But 10 MINUTES AWAY! Can I say I'm thrilled?! It's WAY less money, but we're going to try and work it out. Okay, that's enough CAPS and exclamations.
Anyway, yet another new beginning that I hope is a good one. He starts at the beginning of the year (next week?).

So for the next few days, we'll be wrapped up in Christmas festivities, lots of stuffing our faces and lots of trying to cram new gift items into every nook and cranny of our already crowded house.

I hope everyone out there has a good holiday and I'll catch y'all later. Maybe in 2008?

Now, back to our regularly scheduled Slogmas.

Two in the double digits

My middle offspring is 10 years old today. I'll never forget the day I turned 10, my dad telling me 'You're out of the single digits forever, it'll be double digits from now on'. And I really stopped and thought about it for a minute and it made me feel excited. But kind of sad, at the same time, because even back then, I knew that my 'little kid' years were mostly behind me.

I love the picture of Emma above. I found it for the first time a few minutes ago in a folder of 'Anna's pictures' that she had taken in New York in July. This one gives me a glimpse of what Emma might look like as a teenager. And I love the way her wet hair made little puddles on her shoulders. We had been to Coney Island and were on the subway ride home. The girls had played in the sand and the ocean like little kids. Giggling and pushing each other in the water. It was just getting dark and as I watched them, I smiled because it brought me back to a time when they were my 'little girls' and so young and innocent. I can distinctly remember thinking back then about how, in a few years, I would long for the times when all they did was play and didn't have a care in the world. I was right to think that I would miss it. I do.

We're in a totally different stage now. A stage of friends. And rumors. And boys. And shopping. And all that 'tween stuff'. We went shopping at the mall last night, just the girls. The three of us and two friends. We had the best time. I connect with my girls so much as 'friends' now, and it reminds me of the relationship that I built with my mom, when I was their age. It's a different stage, but a good one. The innocence is still there too, and I hope a little of it always is. Just when I was feeling like Emma was a little too grown up for my taste, she asked me yesterday 'Mom, do they ever run out of room for people in heaven or can everyone fit?' and I'm challenged to figure out something I never would have thought of otherwise. She keeps me on my toes, that middle child.

Emma helps me so much to laugh, to point out things that otherwise would have gone unnoticed and to keep my faith alive. Happy 10th, my Em'!

Did I mention . . .

1.) That I went to my 20-year class reunion (yes, it has been 20 years already, geesh!) back in October and had a really good time? Picture of me and my high school buddies (and Mark) above.

2.) That Mark hit a cow Friday night and totally creamed his wee Corolla? We're pretty sure it's totalled, and the cow definitely was.

3.) That Emma will be ten years old in 3 short days, so I'm planning another party?

4.) That I've spent so much money on online purchases in the past few weeks, that I'll be broke until NEXT Christmas?

5.) That I've actually done all of my Christmas shopping and Christmas cards already? Yippee!!

If I've mentioned any of that already, forgive me. Did y'all forget to mention anything? If so, leave a comment telling me what!

Randomly Renee

Beki at Artsy-Craftsy Babe tagged me for this meme, 8 random things about myself. Let's see if I can think of things I haven't blogged before b/c I have a tendency to repeat myself.

1.) I had two favorite dolls as a child, the one above (her name was Corrine and I thought she was just lovely!) and another little plain rubber baby that I had when I was much younger named Rosie. I still have her, but she's naked.

2.) I don't like clutter. I like my countertops, tables, etc. to be neat and organized. Just don't come look at my desk. Or my kids rooms. Or my garage. Anyway, that's not the point, I still don't like it.

3.) I don't have much body hair, but I do have a lot of facial hair. Thick eyebrows, nose hair and a moustache. Don't you just want to see that in person?!

4.) My dream is to retire to the islands somewhere and just live in a little hut on the beach and listen to the waves.

5.) If you want me to buy something online, let me DEFER payment. Nothing turns me on more than letting me WAIT to pay for something, with no interest!

6.) I've had 8 mammograms (this is on my mind since my last was yesterday) and some don't hurt at all, like the one I just had. Woo-hoo!

7.) My favorite song at the moment is 'Rockstar' by Nickelback.

8.) Sometimes I just can't wait to get to work, so as to escape the drama of my three children.

So, there you have it. I'm not tagging but if you want to play along, please do. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

1995 was THAT long ago, huh?

In 1995 on this day, at 12:07 pm, I saw this face for the first time. It was love at first sight.

I can't believe that face is 12 years old today. She loves shopping (see our plans below), IMing her friends, her cell phone, listening to music . . . I swear she's been a teenager for years now. But she's still my sweet girl who brightens my day with her pretty smile and makes me laugh with her silliness. I'm so lucky to have her. Happy Birthday, Anna! I love you.


(Raise your hand if you're going shopping at midnight for Black Friday deals.
(I'm asking as I raise my hand).
AKA 'Raise your hand if you're nuts'.
See you there.)

John-isms

Scene: John M. comes in crying, holding his head. (After I heard a loud 'boom').

Me: Awww, did you hurt yourself?

Him: Yeah.

Me: What did you hit?

Him: The ground!



Scene: Lying (or is it laying, someone help me here) next to John in bed.

Me: Can I have a kiss.

Him (nods his head 'no')

Me: Please.

Him: (he tilts his little head my way)

Me: No, not that kind. On the lips.

Him: I don't have any lips.

Who CAN'T use a free printer?

Jamie at BlondeMom blog is giving away a free printer! Don't you just love FREE stuff? Go check it out for a chance to win.

Thanks for all the nice comments regarding my post about my grandfather. They all meant a lot to me.

Pod

My grandfather died yesterday. He was almost 88 years old.
My sister and I always called him 'Pod', never 'Paw-Paw' or 'Grandpa'.
When my sister was born, he was 47 and said he was too young to be a 'Grandpa'.
He asked her to call him 'Podnuh' (Cajun for 'partner', friend, goodfella, you get my drift).
She couldn't say it so she called him 'Pod'. It stuck.

I admired him more than just about anyone I can think of.
He dedicated so much of himself to his community and his church.
His family was very important to him.
He raised my dad which says so much right there b/c my dad was such a great man.

When I was little, all I can remember is him making me laugh.
He'd had Alzheimer's for the past 5 years or so.
The past couple of years, most days, he didn't know me.
Every now and then he did and that made me feel so happy.

I know that he's where he should be now.
With his wife and his son; the two people he loved more than anything else.
I'll miss him though.

Pod (1920 - 2007)

I just noticed something . . .

Look to the right, in my 'About Me' section. See anything uh . . . a little off?
I swear I did not change that. Intentionally, at least.

Our Eyes

Stuff that we've been doing . . .

As usual, I'm behind on posting about the day to day. I wanted to make sure and do a Halloween post because I love to look back on the pictures from year to year.

Here we have Emma starring as Hannah Montana and John M. as Rocket from Little Einsteins:

This is the first year that John M. actually 'got' the trick-or-treat thing and seemed to enjoy it. He stripped 'Rocket' off about 1/3 of the way through, and just looked like a kid dressed as himself, but oh well. I love this picture of my mom looking like she just scalped Miley.



Here's the whole motley crew. Notice Big Hannah (Emma) and Little Hannah (Jenna).
Anna was an Indian girl (I prefer squaw).



The other high point of last week was discovering that our banana plants actually produced little tiny bananas. Non-edible seedy bananas but hey, they were cute. Here they are.



Now, if that's not excitement, you just tell me what is.

Shouldn't I be Governor or something?

Our new Governor-elect Bobby Jindal is just 36 years old. On Sunday, I'll be 38. I'm older than the Governor. If that doesn't make me feel pre-historic, I'm not sure what does.

That's just the way it goes right? You live long enough and you're older than everyone. Your doctor, your boss, your governor, everyone.

This has been the quietest birthday I can remember ever. I haven't talked or thought about it much. I had to catch myself just now to remember to blog about it. I keep forgetting it's coming up. My 20-year high school reunion is tomorrow and I can't decide if I want to go. Maybe that's overshadowing my bday too.

What I'd like is a quiet day outside with my family because the weather here has been beautiful. I'm thinking about having a nice lunch out somewhere and then maybe going here with my family. I haven't been in years and I think John M. would like it.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'll just be down here getting older. ;^)

Birthday Pics almost 1 month late

So, John M's been 3 years old for almost a month now, but I'm finally getting the birthday pics in.

His party was at a local 'farm' here, complete with a pony, goats, an oversized rabbit, and a hayride. Most of the kids loved it, but John M. cried about 90% of the time. The only part he seemed to really like was the cake and the presents. I wonder who he gets that from? Hmmmm....

The Sun and the Clouds

Remember this post way back when? Probably not, because no one read my blog way back when (but since then I've gained you 5 readers - woo-hoo!!)

It was about noticing. About how most times we don't even notice that we're not noticing. Back then, I was making an attempt to be more observant, more appreciative of all of the beauty that surrounds me. I'm still working at it; it's something that I have to make a conscious effort to do most times. But you know who helps me? Emma.

Emma notices clouds, the sun, the moon, the water, she sees beauty in all of it and the best part of it is, she points it out to all of us. Monday, as we were on the way to school, (it was a very gloomy, rainy day), she said:

'Mom, look at all those black clouds. That's not good'.

Me: 'No. I think it's going to be a rainy day'.

Em: 'But if you look real close, you can see the pretty white clouds underneath over there'.

Me (struggling hard to see without crashing the car): 'I can't see them'.

Em: 'Yeah, you see, they're trying to push the ugly clouds out of the way so they can get through'.

I just grin.

She looks at me and says 'What, Mom?'. I say 'I just like the way you put things sometimes'.

She shrugs her shoulders and says 'Well . . . it just makes them seem more alive'.

Exactly.

(and then there was John M. yesterday, while trying to watch his Dora DVD in the car. The sun had the nerve to come out and shine in his eyes. He asked me in a really whiney tone, 'Mom, can you turn the sun OFF?!' There's a lot I can do, but there's one thing I can't. Sorry-o).

(PS. John has started POOPING in the potty! I can't remember the last time I was this excited.)

RENEE

I've been tagged by Jamie of BlondeMomBlog for a middle name meme. Okay, my middle name is Renee (which is the name I go by). No one has ever called me by my first name, except for my orthodontist and a few of my college professors. Here are some facts about me using the letters in 'Renee'; can you stand the excitement?

R - Real. One thing I cannot stand is people who aren't 'real' and pretend to be something they're not. I hate snobbiness, rudeness, that whole 'I'm better than you' attitude.

E - Eater. I am definitely an eater. I can out-eat many large men. I almost always clean my plate; not necessarily because I'm hungry, but just because I love the taste of FOOD!

N - Nerd. I'm a nerd; there, I said it. First of all, I'm a programmer. 'Nuff said? But I also love board games, crossword puzzles, reading, etc.

E - Exciteable - I'm very exciteable when it comes to certain things, like my kids playing sports for instance, or anything my kids do, I guess. I tend to yell and clap and possibly jump up and down.

E - Emma (Okay, I had a lot of 'Es', give me a break.) Emma has been one of very favorite girls' names ever since I was a kid. I used to watch 'Kate and Allie' and dream of the day that I would have my own Emma like Kate did. And now I do!

Wanna play? I'm gonna tag Mark, Cindy, and Heather.

T.h.r.e.e

My baby is three years old today. I know you're thinking 'he's not a baby anymore'. The thing is, to me, he still is. Maybe I want to hold on to his 'baby years' so badly that I just can't see him any other way. He's my last, you know, so give me a break.

So, Happy Birthday to John M. My boy, my only boy. Thank you, John, for showing me what it's like to mother a boy. Thanks for showing me all the differences, big and small. Thanks for loving to pee outside. Thanks for liking things with wheels; trains, trucks, tricycles, if it goes, you like it. Thanks for sweet little sloppy boy kisses that you wipe off as soon as you give them out. Thanks for being jealous when Daddy tries to hug me or lay next to me. Thank you for reminding me of 'June' all the time and knowing that a little piece of him exists in you.

I love you, my boy.

My Mom 'Catch-Phrase'

Thought I'd jot down this phrase I catch myself saying over and over to my daughters.

Usually preceded by them telling me they don't WANT to do something or don't feel like doing something.

Me: "I do LOTS of things I don't want to do."

Usually to be followed by 'So, that's life' or 'Get used to it'.

I say this all the time. Do you have a phrase like that? If so, please share.

John-isms

I was commenting to Anna yesterday about one of the moms at soccer practice (she's a tiny, little petite lady); I said 'Oh yeah, she's a little tiny lady'.

John M. chimes in, 'Yeah, mama, you a little not very little'. An insult, slightly in disguise.

This one comes straight from his sisters' example.

At the age of 2 now, 'Mama, you gettin' me so agwahvated!'.

There was another one I wanted to share but my old brain can't remember what it was.

I'll share a picture from our church fair this past weekend:

Blog-slug

I just noticed how long it's been since I've posted. La-zy, that's me.
I'm still alive, I've just been blog-neglectful.
John M. has had a weird stomach virus for the past 5 days that he just can't seem to
quite get over. I had a touch of it over the weekend, and now Anna has it too, although
not nearly as bad as he had it. I cleaned up more vomit in the last week than I ever
care to see in my remaining lifetime.
Jealous, eh?

Basketball, soccer, art and school are now in full swing, so I don't see home much
anymore. The inside of my car, I see all too often.

The weather has finally cooled off a little, as in it's not boiling hot out. It's been in the lower
90s. Woo-hoo! That's actually 'cool' for this place. I have some photos I want to post, but
don't have them uploaded yet. Slacking, part 2.

So, just checking in to do this post about nothing. I'll be back soon.

The Hunt

I come from a land of hunters. Hunting and fishing are huge down here. Last Saturday was the opening day of 'Dove Season', and my father-in-law, who is big on hunting, invited Mark and my boy on what would be John's first hunt. Mark bought him some little headphones to wear, and of course, we had to coordinate the whole 'camo' outfit (because if you're hunting, you have to look good, right?!).

Here he is on the way back home. They actually got a few doves and Mark even BBQed a couple for Labor Day. Eiuuu. I stayed far, far away. Have I mentioned I don't like to eat cute, little forest creatures (deer, rabbits, squirrels, doves, etc)? Mark said John had a good first experience, but was WIPED OUT afterwards.

Only in Louisiana

John M's babysitter lives on a bayou. Guess what they spotted yesterday?

One of these!
It was about 10 feet long and apparently hungry, b/c it went for a dog next door. I've always wondered if they saw gators in their yard b/c of the bayou being so close, but this is the first time she's actually told about one being close.


I have to admit, I think alligators are pretty cool. When Anna was little (about 3 or 4), alligators were her absolute favorite animal. The very first picture she painted at preschool was of an alligator.


I'll leave you with some Louisiana alligator facts:


Louisiana has the highest alligator population currently approaching 2 million.


Alligators were first harvested in Louisiana in great numbers in the early 1800's. These alligators were harvested for their skins which were used to make boots, shoes and saddles, and for their oil used to grease steam engines and cotton mills.


The American alligator is the largest reptile in North America. The first reptiles appeared 300 million years ago and ancestors of the American alligator appeared 160 million years ago.

Top Ten Things I Enjoyed at the Audubon Zoo

1.) The gators! They were kinda feisty and jumping after french fries. 2.) Watching the kids play on the playground.

3.) This gorilla who ate a variety of veggies like a person. I thought it was Mark for a second. ;~)

4.) The waterfall area!

5.) Monkey hill where I watched 2 of my own 'monkeys'.

6.) Elephant cutouts b/c we never got around to the actual elephants.

7.) Big long 18 inchers. (giraffe tongues, that is)

8.) The beauty of the Audubon zoo.

9.) Mark coming with us, even though he has to make this long trek every week day.

10.) Snapping pictures like this one.

Grateful Friday

1.) The end of a L-O-N-GGGGGGGGGGGG work week.

2.) A fun day the Audubon Zoo/Aquarium of the Americas planned for tomorrow.

3.) My mom, who has helped me out every single day this week (okay, every day of my life actually ;~) )

4.) Basketball and soccer seasons starting up (it's a lot of work but always fun).

5.) Having about 1/3 of my Christmas shopping done!

6.) John M.'s chubby baby hands on my face.

7.) Afternoons spent in the pool cooling off, in this 100 degree heat.

Hope you all have a great weekend. Try to stay cool!

Awwww . . .

This picture makes me smile. #1 because my sweet little boy sleeping, dead to the world.

#2 because I actually have my husband wearing Kenny's T-shirt, of his own free will. ;~)

FLIP-FLOP SUMMER . . . Woo-hoo!

Something else I re-learned . . .

just to re-forget it by next week.

Vacuole
Ribosomes
Mitochondria
Nucleus
(blah, blah, blah)

Anna had to make an edible model of a plant cell for school today. Where DO they come up with this crap? I can't wait to get home and eat the vacuole.

The party's over

So I'm slightly nuts and I told the girls that they could each invite 5 friends over to watch the long-awaited premiere of High School Musical 2. My God, did we think that show would ever actually premiere?! They've just been advertising it on Disney since the beginning of time.

We had 11 girls here, highly engrossed in the movie for about 45 minutes, and then screaming like banshees for the next 2 hours. Who sat on the couch and watched the last hour of HSM2?
That would be me. I had to see if Troy and Gabriella got back together, people. They did. How'd you guess?

So, with only 4 girls remaining in the house, 1 wee boy and 1 medium-sized girl asleep in my bed, I sit here and blog because I'm hopped up on caffeine and 4 slices of pizza.

I can't wait until tomorrow night when I can catch that first hour that I missed. I'm a High School Musical junkie.

Good God, you're almost 3 already!

I haven't done a John M. post in a while, and it's hard for me to believe that boy will be 3 years old next month.

Here he is at the bull-riding show last weekend. He loves bulls, have I mentioned that? Especially watching the 'mans' fall off of the bulls. That's his favorite.

He'll also give his right pinky toe for a doughnut. He'll give his whole foot for a bag of doughnut holes! I have an addict on my hands here. You see, my boss brings me doughnut holes every Thursday morning and I started this thing where I bring them back for John. Well, he asks every day now for those things, and cannot seem to get the concept that it's only once a week. I've created a monster.

Recently, he's fallen in love with a book of nursery rhymes given to him by my mom. He wants to read it every day and his favorite is 'The Purple Cow'. That cow cracks him up. He says every single time that we get to that page (which is usually from the get-go b/c he skips right to it), 'that cow is in the wrong pasture'. I don't know how the kid knows this but he insists that the cow has somehow gotten to the wrong pasture. Of course, he has heard his dad say the same thing about our non-purple cows about 500 times. So, that could be it.

His other favorites now are:

- playing basketball at my sister's house, jumping from a mini-trampoline

- his cousin, Jenna (Jen-Jen)

- bathing with his toy horses and cows

- asking when his 'bird-day party' is going to be 10 times a day

- pancakes at maw-maw's house

- rolling in the dirt

- being naked as a jaybird

(of course, I enjoy those last 2 quite a bit myself!)

That's my boy. Look out 3s, here he comes.

Another school year started . . . let the chaos begin

Back from the big city

We had a great time. There's something about New York City that I just can't get enough of. I've come to think that it's because it's so incredibly different from the place that I live. Opposites attract. And Southern Louisiana and NYC, they couldn't get much more opposite.

I love the business (busy-ness).
I love the tall buildings.

I love not needing a car.

I love the variety. Food. Shopping. Cultures. All of it.

I love the people. I met some great people there.

I love NYC. Bike-carriage ride uptown near Central Park.
WTC memorial plaque
Shoe shopping near Wall Street. Statue of Liberty from ferry.

Boardwalk at Coney Island.

Brooklyn Bridge - we walked across! (well, half-way)
Times Square
Near Rockefeller Center (and Radio City Music Hall)
On the WET double-decker bus tour.
Near an entrance to Central Park

Thoughts before our 'All-Girls' trip . . .

We leave for the big city tomorrow.

I'm having mixed feelings; feeling excited but leery at the same time.

I feel really guilty about leaving John M. Sometimes I feel like that's crazy but I can't help it. I started figuring . . . he's been with me every day for about 1000 days now and I'm just up and leaving him. I know, I know, it's just for a few days and he'll be fine, but guilt is something I have a problem with. I'm trying to work on it though.

I AM excited though. Excited to be with my girls and finally have time to just focus on THEM. Excited because I feel like we're turning into friends who can have a good time together, just as much on a friend-level, as a mother-daughter level. Excited to show them things for the first time. For them to see a new place.

I'm happy to get away from the same old grind too. Work's been getting to me lately.

So, we're off soon. I'll miss my boy. And y'all too. And the cows. And the cowboy. But I'll be back real soon. Hopefully, with lots of great pictures to share. And memories.

Wish us luck.

Start spreadin' the news . . .

Remember I mentioned a few posts ago that the girls and I are going on a trip and I didn't say where? We leave in 3 days!