Three Cheers

Here is what I found when I came downstairs yesterday morning to get ready for work:



Luz had set the chairs up, found something decent to watch on t.v., lined up some pre-breakfast snacks, and generally figured out how to take care of just about everything she and James might need, which was a good thing. I was busy showering and getting dressed and Christian was busy dropping off the spacewalk at ASH. It is nice to know that sometime very soon Christian and I will be able to sleep a little bit later while Luz and James enjoy a quiet morning together. The timing is great because we just upgraded to a king-sized bed. Oh yeah. We were long overdue for a new mattress and figured that we had the space to accommodate a bigger bed. We are still working out the details - the room is in total disarray as I try to figure out what furniture we can and cannot live without - and the bed, although one of the most comfortable I have ever been in (a Simmons Beautyrest Pillowtop - decided after much research and a fair amount of testing) is not quite right because one of the pieces of the bed frame warped during shipping. Fortunately, the piece is going to be replaced soon...at least that is what we are told.

We are back from a perfect Easter weekend in Thib with family and friends and I promise to post some pics soon. Until then, here is our little fam on Easter morning and our sweetheart Loki, enjoying a very uncharacteristic lethargic visit to his favorite place on earth:

Happy Easter

While we are busy hunting for eggs we hope you will be enjoying a lovely Easter with family and friends.

Our Weekend

For the first time in ages it is Sunday evening and I do not feel completely wiped-out. We had a busy weekend but there were plenty of peaceful moments and adequate time to catch my breath. I did not accomplish much of the important things I set out to do but I not feeling panicky about it...not yet.

I think part of the reason why I feel more relaxed is that I decided to take half of the day off on Friday to attend the ASH Alumni Baby Party with James and Luz's Easter Egg Hunt...sadly, the last Easter egg hunt I will have to go to for her class.

So, Friday started like this with James at the baby party hunting for eggs:


and then Luz and her classmates hunting for eggs in the front yard of the "old"/Rosary campus



On Saturday Luz played her last soccer game of the season and I was happy to see that, although she never scored the elusive goal, she had a great game, was enthusiastic the entire time, and seemed to enjoy every minute of it.




James, patiently waiting for the game to end when he would much prefer watching the boats and trains:


Sunday was a quiet day, after a somewhat challenging Palm Sunday mass, Luz and James and I went to Mimi's for a post-mass lunch and play date with their cousins Edward and Helen. The kids loved spending time together and the weather was perfect...unseasonably cool for NOLA.

I took this picture with my phone and cannot figure out how to enlarge it...I apologize for the size:

We are all ready for spring break and are looking forward to some serious r and r next weekend...oh yeah, and a visit from the Easter bunny.

Haircut, II

It was a spur of the moment decision that followed a rather windy and humid soccer practice last Saturday morning...Christian decided that both he and James needed a haircut and that they needed one asap. Fortunately, the super-cool salon around the block, Urban Angels, had just enough time to fit the two of them in and the results are great. Check this place out if you are in need of a new stylist in Uptown NOLA. I think this group is very dedicated to the art of hair styling and it comes through in the cuts. They don't have a website, just a MySpace page, otherwise I would embed the link.

I begged the stylist for a haircut for James that did not look much like a haircut and that made sense to her, somehow. I just did not want to be accused of another Jim Carrey ala Dumb and Dumber debacle like after his first haircut. He still has curls. He still has length and, most importantly, he can see again and does not require headbands and ponytail holders to play. I also think he will look at least somewhat tidy when he gets all gussied up for Easter Sunday.

Here, see for yourself...pre-haircut, soccer practice at the fly:



Getting ready:


Post haircut, playing Angry Birds and spinning on the umbrella outside of Reppici's:

Conge

After a mostly mellow weekend involving soccer, a trip to Urban Angels Salon for the boys, a delicious dinner at Baru, and a couple of rather warm morning runs, we spent the better part of the day in the stifling heat at the ASH Conge. To my horror, Luz discovered confetti eggs this year. They have to be the most disgusting and germy idea ever. She was a whiz at the kiddie games and even reclaimed a couple of stuffed animals we probably donated trying her luck on the spinning wheel. There is nothing like taking home an over-sized and somewhat soiled Cookie Monster and filthy, webkinz fox when there are already hundreds of stuffed animals that never get played with crammed into cabinets and bins...oh well...the the thrill was in the victory, I suppose.

We had a great time, even in the heat, and are now trying to clean up (do you know how tough it is to get rid of confetti...I think I will be finding this stuff for weeks and I have new respect for my mom who probably had to pick it out of four heads at a time when we were young...not a task I enjoyed). I am home and do not anticipate an travelling, at least for a little while. I have been incredibly busy and, so, am looking forward to enjoying a better balance over the next few weeks...wish me luck.

Luz and James, "new" (old) stuffed animals in hand...and, yes, James got a haircut this weekend...it was time...more on that later:


Confetti eggs...empty, possibly salmonela-ridden shells, baking out in the heat, waiting to be cracked in HAIR...nasty:


Face paint, because no fair experience is complete without it, right:

Intergalactic Cooking

Christian and I could barely contain our laughter when this little library selection made its second (or maybe even third) appearance in Luz's book bag after library last week:


There is no question that there is plenty of love for Star Wars around here. Christian buys SW sheets and p.j.s and figures and books and movies and whatever else he can find and - thanks to Aunt Kate - we have a complete Star Wars pancake making set - so it makes sense that Luz, in an effort to please Christian, selected this book during library. Once, it makes sense, more than that is just a tad strange. She has, on average, one visit to the library a week, which does not leave much time for the endless rows of beautiful books just waiting to come home with her...glossy pages filled with tales of princesses and ballerinas, but yet all we have seen around here, with the exception of a lovely ballerina/fairy book last week, are multiple volumes from a "How To" set of proper pet care that looks something like this:


(truly, we have read about all types of dogs and cats, rodents and rabbits and even amphibians)and then the cookbook. I just don't get it but am, needless to say, entertained by her choices.

In an effort to show my appreciation for her excitement about the cookbook, we spent some time reading through it and selecting a recipe to cook. We agreed on popcorn balls, which, in retrospect, was a terrible idea. I somehow got the recipe wrong and it totally did not work. Round two was this afternoon and we decided to make a variation of Jawa Smoothies. Luz did not really like them but they were well-received by Christian and James. And, at least tasted how I imagine they are supposed to taste, unlike the popcorn balls which we could not even get to stick together.

Here is a pic of Luz and James earlier today, ready to cook:

We had a great weekend. The weather was warm and sunny so we spent most of it outside. We went to the Freret Street Fair on Saturday followed by the Fete Francais and ended the weekend at the City Park playground before dinner at mom-moms. I do not think we caught up on any much-needed rest or the list of chores around the house, but it would have been a shame to waste such beautiful weather inside tackling a to-do list. We can save that for a rainy day.

Luz and James at the Freret Street Fair...fresh squeezed, sugary lemonade:


Taking turns testing out Uncle Richmond's bike while we waited for C to get back with a Cuban sandwich: