Hot as Hades . . and I love it!

Today Iso T-Stormshi 82°F - lo 62°F
TomorrowP M T-Stormshi 82°F - lo 62°F
This is today and tomorrow's forecasts for my part of the world. I know, most of you are thinking that is crazy hot for the middle of November. But I LOVE it! I cannot stand cold weather . . at all. The only time I like snow is when I'm visiting it and can choose to leave it. Or maybe the one time every 2 or 3 years that is snows here and I have to run out and snap a picture of it before it melts in 10 minutes. Weird . . maybe, but that's why I live down south.
Today we spent a lot of time outdoors. . . played in the yard a while, went to a birthday party at the local park and the kids had a chance to play on the playground a while. Then back home for more backyard playing and an LSU game barbecue. I could take weather like this all winter long and love it!
No snow men for me . . maybe just sweat men. Ugh.

You gotta love a 3 day weekend!

I had today off. Hooray, hooray . . for Veteran's Day! It was a good day . . some time with the boy, lots of time with the girls and an afternoon at the movies with my mom. We took the girls to see 'Dreamer', which was absolutely fantastic! If you have a chance to see it, do. I thought it was a 'kids' movie, but it's great for adults too. Dakota Fanning is amazing and Kurt Russell is really good too. I cried about 4 different times during the run of the movie and my girls were looking at me as if I'd lost my mind. Anna kept trying to console me. :)
My mom treated us to Piccadilly, which is the girls' favorite! And yesterday, I had a great lunch at The Chimes (which is a really good restaurant right next door to the LSU campus, if you're ever in Baton Rouge, give it a try) with my friend Jolie. She's in from NYC and I love to spend time with her. She's a New Orleanean originally and she came down to check out the status of the city. I still haven't been down there but she said most parts are really depressing and she can't imagine how long it'll take to rebuild. She talked about entire city blocks piled up with debris 3 stories high. The air downtown still contains toxins that made her eyes burn. But she said uptown by the Quarter is much better and is somewhat lively. I'm planning on going down the weekend after Thanksgiving when the Audubon Zoo opens again. I'll fill y'all in then on the my adventures. Well, I have to go catch up with you blog buddies . . Peace out.

Whoonu?

I picked up a Cranium Whoonu? game for Anna's birthday present at Target today. We have Cranium Cadoo and we all love it. So simple and basic, but at the same time, lots of fun. Whoonu? is great also. We were supposed to save it for her actual birthday, but we tore it open tonight and all played . . about 7 times. It's great to play with people that you know well, because it's basically guessing their favorite things from choices on cards. Things like 'gardening', 'little dogs', 'game shows', 'sushi', etc. Whoever guesses the most correctly wins! Mark lucked out tonight when he pulled 'french fries' and 'game shows' on the same turn for me! Two of my favorite things in the universe; I'm convinced he somehow cheated on that one! Anyway, if you don't have any yet, go out and get a Cranium game. They're so much fun! (I know I sound like an ad for Cranium, but unfortunately, I get no compensation for my input :( )

Kenny Chesney's in my car!

I picked up Kenny Chesney's new CD at Target today. Listened to it all the way back home. There's something about his voice that makes me hot. Did I say 'hot', I meant 'happy'. The CD has a good mix of slow and upbeat songs. I plan to listen to it every day for weeks until I have all of the songs committed to memory. I also plan to stare at the picture on the back of the CD box for days on end!

Only he can get away with it

There's something about babies, huh? Well, your own baby. Today, John M. had his second flu shot and on the way home, he was a little cranky. It's a long ride back from Baton Rouge, with traffic, close to an hour. He was whiney and just generally not a happy camper. My mom had brought him to B.R. to meet me and had packed 3 'noopies' (that's a pacifier to you non-noopie-sayers) and 2 bottles of milk. John's 2 favorite things in the world. I gave him one noopie. Boom, on the floor it went. 1 bottle. Splat, on the floor it went. Second noopie. Whee . . across the car. Intentionally. That 'Uh-OH'! said by John didn't fool me. Second bottle dripped across his forehead and nose. I'm really pretty irritated by this time. Third and final noopie. Last chance for any peace and quiet. I'm saying a silent prayer that this works. I'm really, really annoyed by now. I turn around and he gives me his 'smiling' eyes and his little grin that I can only see the corners of, because the noopie blocks the rest. Those smiling eyes make me light up inside. That little sucker, he could scream and cry the whole way back and that one smile had me. That's not fair. But that's the way it is.

My Cowgirls

Pictures from Friday night - we took the girls to the rodeo.
All I can say is they got a little of Daddy's genes here, when it comes to being 'farm folks'. They had a great time and John M. enjoyed going up and down the steps to the bleachers about 500 times.

P.S. Can you believe these are the same two girls pictured 2 posts below only 4 years ago?

Get a Life

Does ANYONE on this earth blog on Saturday nights? My statcounter says 'no'. Am I the only one doing this? Am I the only one without anything better to do? I need to . . (see the title).
I'm going to bed.

No child should grow this much in 10 months

December 2004












October 2005
















I know, I know. They all do, but it's amazing isn't it? Notice how calm and still his is in picture 1. Dangling dangerously atop my bathroom counter, disobeying every last instruction on the bouncy seat he sits in. Bad mother!
The calmness and stillness is gone, never to return again, I believe. But the cuteness remains.

Memories . . Spring 2001

I love this picture. Anna was 5, Emma was 3, my house was clean and new. There was no cat hair anywhere, because Pearl was still up in cat heaven waiting to be born into this world. Only to shed 15 lbs of fur daily in this once clean house.
BUT,
on the other hand. This was also a time of endless temper tantrums. Having to pick out a different outfit for Emma to wear every day because there wasn't the luxury of uniforms yet (and this is no easy task with a fashion-loving drama queen on your hands). And lots of Mark traveling and me on my own. And no John M.
Okay, I'll choose now over then.
But they sure were cute, huh?

Remember?. .I love lists

Christa posted this on her site, and I thought it was interesting to read and I can't resist a list so here goes. You're supposed to BOLD the ones you've done.:

smoked a cigarette

crashed a friend's car

stolen a car

been in love

been dumped

shoplifted- I stole a band-aid from the LSU Bookstore in junior high at 4-H Short Course. I know, I'm such a bad-ass.

been fired

been in a fist fight

snuck out of your parent's house

had feelings for someone who didn't have them back

gone on a blind date

lied to a friend

skipped school - My mom, who was always way cool, used to let my sister and I skip school and we'd all go to the mall!

seen someone die

had a crush on one of your internet friends

been to Canada

been to Mexico

been on a plane

purposely set a part of yourself on fire - uhhh, no . .

eaten sushi - and have absolutely no desire to

been jet-skiing - way too many times to count

met someone in person from the internet - no, but I'd like to meet y'all!

been moshing at a concert

taken pain killers

loved and missed someone - Every day.

made a snow angel

had a tea party - how could I not with 2 daughters?

flown a kite

built a sand castle

gone puddle jumping - You gotta love a puddle!

jumped in a pile of leaves

gone sledding - Okay, I don't know if this counts, but remember, I live in South Louisiana. One time, we went to the old Governor's mansion that has a huge hill and there was a snow machine . . so it was actual snow, just not snow from the heavens, and I went downhill on a cardboard box. I know, pitiful, but the closest I ever came . .

cheated while playing a game

been lonely - I'm a little lonely right now. :(

fallen asleep at work or school - 1 word . . pregnancy!

used a fake id - 1 acronym . . LSU!

watched a sunset

felt an earthquake

touched a snake

slept beneath the stars

been robbed

been misunderstood

petted a reindeer/goat

won a contest

run a red light/stop sign - yesterday!

been suspended from school

been in a car accident

eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night

had deja vu- all the time!

danced in the moonlight

liked the way you looked at least at one point in time

witnessed a crime

been obsessed with post-it notes

squished barefoot through the mud

been lost - All the damn time! My kids EXPECT it when we go somewhere.

been on the opposite side of the country

swam in the ocean - even been stung by a jellyfish!

cried yourself to sleep

played cops and robbers

recently colored with crayons - One of my favorites!

sung karaoke - Only in the privacy of my own home!

paid for a meal with only coins

done something you told yourself you wouldn't

made prank phone calls - when you live in a really small town and have sleepovers, what else is there to do really?

laughed until some kinda beverage came out of your nose

caught a snow flake on your tongue

written a letter to Santa Claus

been kissed under the mistletoe by your boy/girlfriend

blown bubbles

made a bonfire on the beach

laughed so hard you pee your pants

cheated on a test - I've noticed while doing this that I'm a cheater!

been kissed by someone you didn't like - ugh, and I don't want to relive the gory details!

gone skinny dipping in a pool

Now, it's your turn!

Anna's almost 10 . .

and I need to start planning that child's birthday party. I've told the girls that once that hit the double digits, the big parties with lots of friends stop and the smaller gatherings commence ( read: I've shelled out enough money for 9 years, give me a break now). So, Anna has decided to have a 'sleepover' party with 10 friends. I know, not small enough, but smallER nonetheless. We're going to have it on the 19th of this month and my question to anyone out there that may have ideas is:

What activities can we have at the party? Outdoor activities may not happen because the weather may be bad (cold, rainy, etc). I've already thought of Karaoke, a Limbo contest and board games. Can you bloggers think of anything else? Any ideas are appreciated.

What did you girls do at slumber parties growing up that was fun?

Skater Boy Gets Hot Date!

We brought the kids ice skating Sunday. John was too wee to skate but check out this little stranger girl bustin' a move on him at the rink!

He's playin' it cool though. Little player.

Stretching the birthday out one more day . .

Thought I'd share a couple of pictures of my new 'ride'. (minus the front). As a bonus, you get to see four hot, sexy mama's too! ;^)
That's Tracy, Beki, and Erica on the bottom and Tracy and Beki again with the old birthday woman on the top. I sure do look happy for turning another year older, don't I?
And I also had to share what was left of my birthday cake made by Tracy. I forgot to take the 'before' picture, but here's the 'after'. I had a really great birthday with family and friends. It made turning another year older not so bad.

I don't think I could do it!

This is a post for all you SAHMs out there, whose blogs I read day in and day out and always feel a little jealous about. I read them many times from work, where I sit wishing I was spending time with my kids. I think how great it would be to be with them ALL day long, soaking in every moment and every new experience. Especially with John M. because so many things are brand new to him each day.

Then, along comes the weekend. Mark is away most of the day doing cow-business (hee-hee).
I leave at 9:00, take all 3 of the kids to Emma's soccer game at 9:30, Anna's game at 10:30, lunch, back home for a bit, Wal-Mart to pick up gifts, a birthday party involving snow!, a Halloween party, back to drop off a friend and then finally home at about 7:oo pm. All I want to do at this point is rest, lay down and watch 'Erin Brokavich' in its entirety (which I've been trying to do for about 3 weeks now). John M. has other plans, like whining non-stop for 2 hours, pulling every toy, pot, pan, magnet, food item, etc. that he can out of everything with a hinge in the house. Anna wants to read all 2001 of her jokes to me, from her '2001 Jokes' book. Emma isn't even home (she went with her daddy to the LSU game), and I can't even handle the 2 I have.

I pray that John M. will go to sleep soon and give me a break! How long has he been up now? It seems like about 36 hours, but it's really only been about 12. Has this been the longest day in the history of days? And Mark has to work tomorrow! How will I make it? And some people do this every day, day in and day out . . . how, oh how do they do it? Suddenly, the boredom of work seems like a luxury.

Don't get me wrong, I do realize that these times with the kids are very special times. And if I didn't have them, I'd miss them beyond belief. It's just that I'm OLD (remember, I just went up a year a mere one day ago) and these kids are fast! And energized 24/7. And I can't hang.
But I'm tryin'.

Maybe they're keeping me young . . for a while longer.

Seen on Anna's bedroom floor

. . while picking up this morning:

(on a bright pink sticky note)
NO EMMAs ALLOWED!!!!

Twice the 18 but only half the 72

Yes, I'm 36 today. It's a nice-looking number, at least. I just typed it and looked at it for a bit. I like the nice, curviness of it. It's got BACK! So, I'm going to take this new age on with a positive attitude. As my friend Beki likes to say, with age comes wisdom. I'm getting wiser by the second!
I've had a nice little day so far, driving to work in my new van (thanks, Mark!), getting a precious custom-made purse from Beki, a nice-smelling candle from Krystal, and some birthday cake later designed by Tracy! Ooh, and a nice outfit from Laurie B.

As I always say, I am so blessed to have such a great family and special friends. I'm definitely counting my blessings today and they number way more than 36!

M.A.S.H.in' Mark

Did you ever play M.A.S.H. as a kid (the Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House thing)? Emma loves it. She likes to predict her future and the future of the rest of us too. Our 'future' is pretty much said and done but that doesn't matter to Emma.

She decided to M.A.S.H. Mark last night.

Emma: 'Daddy, pick 3 girls' (this is who he'll marry, but he doesn't know this).

Mark: 'Lauren, Kaitlyn...' (friends of the girls)

Emma: 'No, DADDYYY . . girls your age that you could MARRY' (and she gives him the face above).

Mark: 'Oh, . . Demi, Jessica' (as in Moore and Simpson).

Emma: 'DADDY, these have to be old girls, your age, that YOU KNOW. Like Mama, say Mama, she's sitting right next to you!'

Mark: 'Oh, okay, Mama.'

So, turns out Mark is going to marry me (who would have thunk it?), have 43 children, make $3/yr, and drive a Porch (that's Porsche, to you and me).

After she read him his final 'future', she says 'Boy, Daddy, your life STINKS!'.

BlogBlock

I haven't posted in a few days, and I need to keep up so here I am, blogging. But, uh, the problem is, what to blog about? I have a bad case of BlogBlock. Is there a cure for that?

There IS something I think about on and off on a fairly regular basis. That's the nature of our past and current friendships and what we look for in developing these friendships. I find it difficult to become close friends with people, at this stage in my life. The women that I have become close to in the past few years are, in large part, women that I currently work with or have worked with. Some have a similar lifestyle to mine, a couple of others don't. The thing about these people is they are just REAL to me. Not at all fake or pretentious. We can talk about anything and I don't feel like I am being judged or looked down upon. I don't feel like I'm back in high school and hesitant to say what I really think and feel. I realize that I should never feel this way but it's a feeling that I still have often, especially when spending time with people in my home town. Maybe it has a lot to do with just the association of growing up in a small town, going to the same school for 12 years, and not being a part of the 'in-crowd' way back when. I felt such insecurity then, and my self-confidence was very low. I became painfully shy, to the point where I would basically not speak at all in groups. I was always severely self-conscious and didn't want to stand out in any way, shape, or form. Much of this has stuck with me and become a part of my personality. It actually helped mold the person that I am today, and in many ways, that isn't a good thing.

Sometimes, being around the people from home, women that I grew up with, went to school with, I'm taken back to those days and that's a time I don't want to go back to. I realize that we're adults now and those teenage years should be forgotten. I feel like I can never really forget though. If someone ignores me or gives me a strange look, all of those feelings come flooding back and I feel like an outcast once again. On the other hand, if I get into a good conversation with someone and I feel like we're really connecting, it erases some of my insecurities and on some level, builds my self confidence.

I want to set a good example for my girls and let them know how important it is to be kind and encouraging to their friends and classmates. I want them to know how something seemingly insignificant can really hurt someone deeply. And that hurt sometimes lasts for years and years and sometimes never totally disappears.

Part of me wants the people that I grew up with to accept me and build friendships with me. I just feel, most times, that it feels forced and unnatural. Probably, in part because of my hangups from the past, and in part, because I feel like the interaction is strained or ingenuine. It's so much easier to talk to the people that I have formed relationships with away from my 'past' environment. I feel like they know the real me and therefore, I can be myself 100% of the time. It's so EASY and comfortable. And who doesn't want 'easy and comfortable', right?

I hope I can find a balance between friendships at home and friendships otherwise. I want to let go of these problems from the past and start new. If that's possible, I'm not sure. But I hope so.


(sidenote, I just ran a 'spellcheck' on my post and it came up with 'BlogBlock' and suggested 'Blackballs'. So, that's a word??!)

So many pictures . . so little time

I haven't uploaded pics from our camera to the PC in a while. I finally did it just now . . all the kids are asleep and I have a moment to myself. Yippee!

So, bear with me but I must share a few.
Here's my girl Anna playing her first soccer game of the season. Doesn't she look 10 feet tall?
They lost this game but won the next. Anna made 2 goals! (she's the dark haired one in the purple, by the way)

Earlier this month, the girls had a pet blessing ceremony at school to celebrate St. Francis of Assisi (sp?). They had Pearl (our white schizo cat) blessed (Lord knows she needs it!) along with Emma's stuffed cat.



Mark carved a pumpkin (which has long since rotted in the near-90 degree South La. heat) after the girls drew a scary face.


And here's just a cute one of John at the soccer game. He looks more and more like a little man every day, instead of my baby!

Last but not least, here's Anna and Patriotic Pearl (cat outfit or 'catfit' courtesy of Maw-Maw Adele!) at the 4-H Pet Show yesterday. Anna won 2 blue ribbons!








It's been a busy few October weeks. They've been good weeks though, with nearly perfect weather and many reasons to 'count my blessings'.

Let's Go on down to N.O. and eat!

My friend Joy pointed me in the direction of this site:

http://www.nomenu.com/RestaurantsOpen.html, that keeps one up to date on which restaurants are currently open in New Orleans. How handy! I want to go back to New Orleans badly, in part to see how it's changed, and in part hoping that it's a place remotely close to what it used to be. It has an atmosphere like no other place I've ever been and I think I want to reassure myself that some of that has been preserved. I hope.

And to eat mass quantities of beignets. That's another reason.

Maybe Mark will take me for my birthday. Mark?