Grateful Friday, Part 4

1. A day at the zoo with these 3 faces last weekend.

2. Blooming flowers all around my house, especially the zinnias!

3. A roast cooking in my slow cooker as we speak.

4. Hopefully, a weekend spent with my favorite 4 people fishing on a lake.

5. Lunch at Chick-Fil-A.

6. Spending every afternoon this week playing with my sister and her gang.

7. 'The Cat In The Hat' movie, which occupies John M. in the car lately.

8. Counting down the weeks 'til our summer vacation (8 more!)

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

John M's rendition of his ABC's - 30 months

My Montage

Future Husband of Mary Lee

The boy likes nothing better than a donut these days. He'd eat a half-dozen at one sitting, if we let him. (And sometimes I want to just to keep him quiet and occupied).

Case in point, after reading 'Green Eggs and Ham' last night, I asked him if he liked green eggs and ham.

John M: 'Nooooo!'.

Me: Would you like them on a train?

John M: Noooooooo!

Me: Would you like them in the rain?

John M: Noooooooooo!

Me: In a boat?

Him: Nooooooo!

Me: With a goat?

Him: Noooooo!

Me: I know, at the zoo (he loves the zoo and we had been the day before).

Him: Noooooooo!

Me: No??

Him: No.

Me: Would you like them with a donut?

Him: YEAH!

Case closed.

I'm so proud.

John M's new favorite word: (drumroll please . . . )


butthole

Cousins in the Land of Missing Teeth

John M. minus one top front tooth at age 2 1/2 and Andrew minus both at age 7.

Grateful Friday Part 3

1.) The great warm weather we've had all week. And really pretty skies (I need to take some

pictures to share with everyone).

2.) My new refrigerator we decided to get last weekend! Who would have thought an appliance could make me so happy?

3.) This little foal shown above (and a calf) that was born this week on Mark's farm. These babies make my 'babies' so happy.

4.) Cheap espadrilles from Chadwicks (go check it out).

5.) John M. being (for the most part) potty-trained, thanks in large, large, supersize, biggie part to Mrs. Sam. No more poopie diapers, hooray, hooray!

6.) A weekend of fun activities planned with the kids.

7.) The Easter holiday being just around the corner.

I hope y'all have a great weekend! Peace out.

Popsicles

Is it summer yet? Down here, it's been mighty darn close. Temps in the lower 80s and humidity cubed.

Just in time for Emma's latest St. Vincent De Paul's purchase, popsicle molds! The kids each made one, lemonade for Anna, O.J., for John M. and Sunny D. for Emma. They broke them out yesterday and licked them to death.

I can still remember freezing Hawaiian Punch in ice cube trays as a kid, and it was just like heaven. On a stick.

(I realize these popsicles are a little phallic, but hey . . .)

St. Patrick's on St. Charles

We spent Saturday in New Orleans b/c Mark was in the St. Patty's Parade there. No longer a float-riding virgin (although I still am).

Thinking about John . . .

It's after 11 pm and I'm still up.
A-may-zin!

Just wanted to jot down some Johnisms while I have them on the brain.

He hasn't been eating this week, and it's worrying me. I told him yesterday that if he wanted to grow bigger, he'd have to eat. He said 'But I'm a BIG boy, Mom'. I told him he needed to get bigger so he could go to school and ride the bus with his sisters. He loves the bus.
So, today, he wouldn't eat again and I told him, "John, you need to eat something. Remember why?".
He looks at me with his big, round eyes and said "So, I ride the bus!".
Okay, yeah.

He told me he loved me tonight. I said 'How much?'. He said 2-5. Which is like the biggest number he can think of. Usually.
So, Emma asks him how much he loves her. 2-7! I swear, he never said 'seven' before. No fair. Emma wins.

One of his new favorite sayings is 'I din't mean to'. He knocked me in the lip with his head when I was holding him earlier tonight, and I jumped back and put my hand on my lip b/c it hurt like hell, and he said 'Mama, I din't mean to.', all sad and everything. Then he gently put his little baby lips on mine and gave me the sweetest kiss.
That boy can work it.

I've been saying it since the beginning of his life.
Has.Me.Wrapped.

Friends Forever . . . well, almost

Yesterday, when I got home, Emma was tucked away in a back room we have. Mark calls it his 'office', I call it his 'junk room', or 'the room full o' crap'. Anyway, that's where our computer is.

Emma yells out, 'Mom, how do you spell 'swear'? I tell her.

Next, 'Hey, how do you spell 'solemnly'?'

'Did you just say 'solemnly'?

'Yeah, I'm typing something'. Okay, I tell her.

Me: 'So, what are you typing?'

Her: 'An agreement'.

Okay, I'm really interested now. She tells me she's typing a 'best friend agreement' with her friend, Kellie and she reads it to me. It goes something like this, "I, Emma, solemnly swear, to be best friends with Kellie until 9th grade. This is a secret. If you tell anyone, you are out of the club."

I asked 'What happens after ninth grade?'. She says, 'Well, Mom, by ninth grade, you're almost to college, and you may go to different colleges, so you can't be best friends anymore. But maybe you will be'.

I love her so much.

Oh no, not two of them . . .

When I looked at this picture from last weekend, I saw it for the first time . . . what I talked about last year here. Do you see it? Emma looking not so much like a little girl, but more like a 'tween'. Say you don't see it. Because if it's happening, I don't know if I can handle two of them!

How did my mom do it?

SPRING!

and my personal favorite, Emma 'peeing' with the hose. So classy like her mama.

The Missing Toothed John

I can't seem to get a good close-up picture of John M. with his missing tooth. So, here's the best I have. This picture was actually taken by Anna. Can you see it?

Grateful Friday Part 2

Today, I'm thankful for

1.) These kids.

2.) Benny's $3 car wash.

3.) My babysitter, Sam, who is so good to me and my children.

4.) Louisiana weather in March. It's been so pretty here.

5.) Hand-me-downs.

6.) Tax refunds.

7.) Seeing Mark scoop Emma up and hold her like she was 2 when she ran to him in the parking lot yesterday.

8.) Old Barney tapes (at the low, low price of 50 cents) that occupy John M. so I can catch up on cleaning.

9.) Piccadilly with my mom yesterday.

10.) Getting free tickets to see my man Kenny in May!!

Grateful Friday

1.) Mr. Sandman up there finally getting a chance to enjoy his sandbox from Santa.

2.) Seeing him with his little one tooth, one gap smile since having his tooth pulled Monday. And kinda liking it better than his original 2-tooth smile. (photos to come)

3.) A fun lunch with my friends today and having my first burrito in a bowl.

4.) Seeing Anna in her new glasses. She's so cute with them. (photo to come on this too)

5.) Emma learning her '4 times' tables this week, and calling out 'Sweet 16!' every time we come to 4 times 4.

6.) The 5 of us all getting to watch TV in the living room last night piled together.

7.) A taste of summertime, weather-wise and summer camp planning-wise too.

8.) A weekend with nothing planned.

5 phrases to sum up the long weekend

1.) Mardi Gras mambo (Mahi Gra Bambo, in John-speak)

















2. Lots of vomit and poop (virus-city)

3. Catching enough beads and doubloons to choke a chicken



















4. Goin' on down to the Audubon Zoo














5. Finally, some springy weather!

Happy VD

Isn't that a nice way to phrase it? Takes on a whole different meaning, doesn't it?

Not much to say but I'll share with you this picture that I took with two of my coworkers last week when we all happened to wear red and black. Don't we look all VDish? (try to ignore the fact that my shirt looks see-through, it was just the light).

Hope y'all have a great Valentine's. Now go and kiss your man right now.

Mean Girls

It's starting with Anna (she's 11, in 5th grade). The games that girls play. The mean ones, where they talk behind each other's backs and make fun of one another. No longer all carefree friends that are too naive and innocent to play these games. I remember this from my school days all too well. I hated it. Apparently, I hate it even more now that it involves my girl. I know she's not 100% innocent in all of it, but I truly believe that she would never be hurtful and deceitful on purpose.

I know there's no avoiding the 'Mean Girls' and I may as well hold my breath and get ready for what lies ahead. And then one more time with Emma. But can't we just skip this stage and go straight to college?

John M. self portrait 2/6/07

Don't you sometimes feel sorry for your laundry room?

I mean, it's a room that doesn't get a lot of love.

Not enough action.

But mine was a happy laundry room last night.

A girl and a boy feeling the warm love of clothes just out the dryer.

Stolen From Lisa M.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:30, which leaves me exactly 35 minutes to get everyone up and out.

2. Diamonds or pearls? I like them both, I guess diamonds.

3. Shoes? Sandals

4. What was the last film you saw at the theater? Pursuit of Happyness this weekend. I loved it!

.5. What is your favorite TV Show? Right now, Deal or No Deal.

6. What did you have for breakfast? A banana and two biscuits made by Mrs. Sam.

7. What is your middle name? Renee - my first is Suzanne, but no one calls me that.

8. What is your favorite cuisine? I like just about anything, but Chinese.

9. What foods do you dislike? Anything with nuts, especially peanuts.

10. Favorite Chips? I eat Baked Lays, so as not to be fatty, but I love Cheetos!

.ll. Favorite CDs? Anything by Kenny Chesney

l2. What kind of car do you drive? Saturn mini-van. Bo-ring.

l3. Favorite sandwich? Hmm . . . turkey? Or do burgers count?!

14. What characteristics do you despise in others? People who brag. Aloof. Rude.

15. What is your favorite clothing? Hmm, I don't think I have one. I like my jeans.

l6. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Greece

17. What color are your eyes? Hazelish

l8. Favorite Fashion Brand: I don't care, as long as it's cute and cheap.

19. Where would you want to retire to? Somewhere in the Caribbean (Move over MarkD, here I come)

20. Favorite time of day? Late morning.

2l. Where were you born? Baton Rouge, LA

22. Favorite sport to watch? Basketball

23. Coke or Pepsi? Coke

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? I haven't been pooping much. What do you mean, that's not exciting?

25. What did you want to be when you were little? You're not gonna believe this but when I was about 11 or 12, I wanted to be a computer programmer. Thanks to Atari. I know. Weird-o.

26. What is your best childhood memory? Family vacations, spending the day on the river (lake).

27. Did you ever skip school? Yep, with my mom! She'd take me and my sister shopping. How cool is that?

28. Who was your best friend in school? Stephanie, Robyn, and Pam.

29. Piercing? Ears

30. Ever been to Africa ? No.

31. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

32. Favorite restaurant? Don's Seafood, Chili's

33. Favorite flower? Tulips, Hibiscus

34. Favorite flavor of ice cream? Plain ol' chocolate.

35. What store would you choose to max out your credit card? Ooh, that's tough. I like Old Navy. The Gap. Many others.

36. Bedtime? 10 pm

37.. Favorite movie of all time? I don't think I have a favorite of all time. I like GoodFellas a lot.
An Officer and A Gentleman too.

I'm stopping at 37 b/c that's my age and I'm old and tired.

2, 9, 11

Lately, I've been noticing more and more my attempts to address the needs of my kids at the different stages they are in their lives. There's just something tricky about trying to change a poopie diaper while helping a third grader with spelling words, and listening to an 11-year old complain about not being able to talk to boys on the phone.

Can I just have one stage at a time please? I think I'd been spoiled with this. Anna and Emma are only 2 years apart and they were on the same wavelength for years. I'd take them to the zoo, they were happy. To the park, happy. To Burger King, great. Shopping, even better.
Not so much now. I find myself trying to make all three happy, or at least not miserable and sometimes failing big time. I try to get some one-on-one time with all of them, but John M. is way ahead on that game. He needs my attention most often, so he's the one that gets it.

I wonder sometimes if my girls feel slighted and I hate to admit myself that they chances are, they do. They've actually voiced them a few times but most often, don't mention it. That fact, in itself, makes me love them all the more and feel guilty all the more too. I suppose I have to look at it in the way that the 1-on-1 attention that they receive is directly proportionate to what they require. You get me? I'm not sure I do either. But what I'm thinking is that, for the most part, they seem to be content to be playing with friends, or on the computer or watching Hannah Montana on Disney for the umpteenth time, and if that's the case, so be it. Now and again, they do request my involvement in something specific, a game or homework or a project and I do my best to give them 100% when I can. I hope that's good enough. That I'm not doing any harm.

My absolute favorite times are when things just seem to fall into place by themselves. Like when they all end up in the kitchen doing cheers that they've taught John, that involve Anna (or Emma) yelling 'Big Sis!' and him coming back with 'Little Bro!' and then lots of laughing.
Those are the best. I hope there's loads more of those to come.

Daniel Powter baby

John M. spent the day with my mom yesterday. I called to check on him a couple of times and she said that he was really behaving well. He ate all of his breakfast, took his medicine without a problem and ate an entire Lean Cuisine spaghetti dinner for lunch. He, then, even asked when he was going to go to sleep!

He took a nap and they were playing and reading books, and my mom said she was really feeling happy that they had a good day together.

It's at this point John M. decides to bust her bubble. He breaks out into his own version of 'Bad Day'. Just out of the blue. Way to bring her down, boy. She told him, 'John, I thought we were having a good day together'. He comes back with 'I jus' singin', Maw-Maw!'.

Rain, Rain, go away

I'm posting this picture because I'm sick and tired of cold and rain. The weather has been drear-y, with a capital DREAR lately and I really don't like it. So, here's Anna about 4 years ago on the sunny beaches of Florida. Eating her Happy Meal that the seagulls stole soon after, when we abandoned our mat to go pee. Damn gulls.

I've been busy lately, apparently too busy to post regularly. I could kick myself when I do that. The kids say things on a regular basis that I want to capture, but I forget. And those things soon fly out of my head and are gone forever. I've been wracking my brain trying to think of what Emma said last night that me fall out laughing. And I can't, for the life of me, remember. I need a memory chip installed in my brain, that I can take out and plug in to my PC.

So, latest news:

John M. had his first dentist visit yesterday because of his 'dead' blue tooth. Turns out, it's infected so he'll be on an antibiotic for the next 10 days.

Anna and Emma have kicked in full-speed with basketball games.

My house has decided it wants to fall apart and I hope the money fairy drops a load of cash down, so we can fix even a portion of it.

Mark bought a new tractor and I think it may be sexy. Thanks, Kenny.

Peace Out.

61! Wow, that's old.

Wasn't that title funny, Mom? Are you laughing?; you don't look like you are.

My mom turned the big 6-1 on the 6th, which is today, right? Well, no, but I backdated this post. See how techno-savvy I am?

I missed her birthday post by 4 days, so here it is.

What do I say about this woman who sits here with me in goofy 3D glasses, and is thoroughly enjoying it, just like I am? She is my clone, or I guess actually, I am hers. Not appearance-wise, as you can see, but personality-wise, yes!

We are both dingbats, have no sense of direction, love to laugh and be silly, and are generally in a good mood. We always said, growing up, that my sister was a lot like my dad and no question, my mom and I were two peas in a pod.

I sure haven't wondered far from her. I live about 50 feet away. I don't tell her often, but she is everything to me. She is my best friend, the one who I can tell anything to, and she will always listen and let me know that she is genuinely interested. She is my outing partner, she's always up for going most anywhere with me and the kids. She's my 'fixer-of-all'. She alters my family's clothes, and fixes anything broken. I can't count the number of times I say 'We'll just bring it to Maw-Maw's, she can fix anything'. Oh, by the way, she is an incredible 'Maw-Maw' to all seven of her grandchildren. I keep waiting for my kids to outgrow wanting to go visit 'Maw-Maw' but they never do.

I've always thought that we were alike in so many ways, but the one thing I've always felt along with that, was that I could never measure up to the person that she is. She's always there for her family and her friends. She's generous beyond belief and honest and caring. She's my example of what I want to be 'when I grow up'. She's so many things that I strive to be. Maybe one day I'll get there. Until I do, I'll appreciate the fact that she's in my life.

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you more than mud. And penguins. And even muddy penguins.




(now there's your birthday post, so you can shut up ;^)

2007 Resolutions

I never really put my resolutions on paper, hell, sometimes I don't even make any. In the past couple of weeks, from time to time, I've thought of things that I want to work on and I figured it would do me good to actually put them in writing.

1.) Spend more one-on-one time with Mark. Have more 'dates' without the kids.

2.) Give more time/money to charitable causes. (I've actually already done some work on this one in 2007!)

3.) Be more generous, in general.

4.) Stop complaining (or at least, cut back).

5.) Lose that 10 lbs I've been talking about for the past 2 years. (This is one I definitely have been working against so far this year, I say, as I burp my Sonic lunch).

6.) Really READ things, books, magazines, blogs, whatever. Don't SKIM, but read. I've always been a skimmer.

7.) Try to teach my children more about faith and morality. Be a more positive example also.

8.) Plan more outings and get-togethers with friends and relatives.

9.) Visit more often with family.

10.) Don't spend too much money on things I don't really need. Beware of the lure of the promotional and free shipping codes! This one is going to be a doozie.

On a side note, 'Who dat talkin' bout beat dem Tigers?!'
Woo-hoo, LSU!!

Holidays

Christmas was a good one. The kids got way too many presents from Santa, but what else is new?
The favorites seem to be Anna's new cell phone, Emma's little Tracphone and John M.'s play-dough. He also loves his Elmo, which he insists on calling 'Nemo'.

We still have unopened gifts at home, but we're getting to them one by one. We opened a bottle of bubbles yesterday and I swear, Anna and Emma enjoyed them more than John M. did. Note to self, when in need of a gift, a 99 cent bottle of bubbles is the answer.

We spent Christmas Eve with my mom and my sister and her family, as is the tradition. There are 7 grandkids total, so my mom's living room looked like Toys R Us threw up. Christmas day, we made the rounds to a few different places, including my in-laws' house. I had to get a picture of Anna and Mark's mom, because they're about the same height now. And the boys all matched so I got some pictures of them too.




















I hope y'all had a great Christmas and are looking forward to a Happy New Year. Let the fireworks begin!

I present . . .

The Virgin Mary and the Angel Gabriel.



















And about 2 seconds later, the real Anna and Emma came out.

'Ice Princesses'

Anna and Emma 'graduated' from their ice skating class last week. They absolutely loved it and we may do the next one in the spring. I think it's great that they're learning how to ice skate because that's something I never even tried as a child. Growing up in Southern Louisiana, you don't see much ice unless it's floating in your lemonade.

All I Want for Christmas . .

I actually made a list this year that I have saved on my desktop at work of things that I want for Christmas. Not things that I actually expect to get, but things that I yearn to have. Problem being lack of dinero.

Anyway, I thought I'd share. Let me know what's on your list so we can whine about not getting these things the day after Christmas.

1.) An I-pod Nano (Apple has these on their site refurbished for under 100 bucks. Hmmm...)
2.) A new laptop. I know I just got one but, long story.
3.) New bathroom towels.
4.) New set of pots/pans. Boring, yes, but I need them.
5.) New oven. Ditto #4. Mine has been broken for over 2 years now, but I'm not a cook so I put it off.
6.) New chairs for my dining room table.

I figured these things would be about 2000 bucks. So, I'm only about 1960 short.

Yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas. Only 8 more days. Yikes.

Happy 61st, Daddy!

My father would have been 61 today. I did a similar post to this one last year with a baby picture of him, so I figured I'd do a teen picture this time. It's hard to believe, but I think he may have even gotten cuter.

I see so many people in my father's face. I see a little bit of me, a little of my boy, and a lot of my sister's oldest boy. The funny thing is both of the boys mentioned are named after my dad. That says a lot right there.

I could never fully express what a wonderful father he was, how thinking about him just for a few seconds makes me cry. How I miss him so much every day and how little things remind me of him all the time.

His death has definitely given me a different perspective on the death of others since. Before, I could only see the sadness in death, but now I see a reuniting of my father with his friends and family. Our family may be shrinking here, but his is growing and that makes me smile.

Happy Birthday, Daddy. I love you.

Birthday Festivities

The party went well and the best part of it is . . . it's over!
We had 23 kids there. And I don't think we lost any. (If we did, their parents aren't complaining yet).
Emma is now officially 9 years old.

And now, some pictures from the festivities:

All lined up eating their Cane's.













Emma and her buddies:















John M. asked 400 times to 'wide' the carousel, and then
this was the look on his face when we put him on. He made
a quick exit.















Emma and the 'love' fry.

Happy 9th, Emma!

I hope you have a great birthday, my girl.

You make me laugh so much every day and I'm always amazed at your humor and wit. Sometimes I swear I'm talking to a 30-year old.

I'm so proud of your dedication to your family and the importance of prayer and spirituality in your life. You show me on a daily basis your firm belief in a life that goes beyond this one and your anticipation of seeing 'June' and others once you're there.

I love the fact that you're so much still a little girl and want to play Polly Pockets with me and dance in the living room. I always ask you to stay little and live with me forever and you say you can't promise to do that. But I sure wish you could.

I feel so blessed to have you as my girl.

Love,

Mom

John and Pearl

John M. has a thing lately for picking up Pearl, our cat. Thank God Pearl is a nice, old, patient cat that puts up with lots of crap. She tolerates him, but runs away at the sight of him too. I swear, she's thinking 'I'm not sure where this boy child came from, but can you please stick a stamp on him and return to sender.'

Single Mom

That's what I feel like these days.

Mark has been working like crazy. I knew this. I expected it. I mean, he just started a new job less than a month ago that's in a galaxy far, far away. I knew what I was in store for, and I put on my 'positive attitude, it'll get better' cap.

Surprisingly, that cap has been doing its job. It hasn't been all that bad.

Mark used to travel A LOT when the girls were babies and when I tell you, I had a time with the 'single mother' thing, I'm not lying. Of course, back then I had 2 babies only 2 years apart that required all of my attention. Now, with the 11 and 9-year-olds and one small hurricane, it's so much different. Actually, so much easier.

I'm hoping that these 15-hour work days shorten in the very near future though, just because we miss having him around. And that, in the long run, this was a good decision. I have a feeling that it was, I just have to give it time.

By the way, that picture there is of the 5-day-old hurricane about 2 years ago. I didn't have new pictures, so I thought we'd review that one.


P.S. The Emma-sheep performed last night and guess who didn't take one picture? you guessed it. Add that to my bad-mother list. But there is a DVD to buy of the whole production! Yippee!