Jazz Fest 2012

Luz and James are FASCINATED by Cee Lo so when we found out he was going to be at Jazz Fest this year we decided we would check him out.  Christian had already made plans to watch the LSU v. UGA baseball game in Baton Rouge so the kids and I were on our own.  Despite a bit of a rocky start - we had to park about a mile away (on Orleans) and the crowd around Congo Square was unreal - it ended up being a fabulous day at the fest.  Luz even said it was the "best Jazz Fest ever".

The stroller, although absolutely necessary for the walk, was a bit of an albatross but I only rolled up the back of a few ankles and over a handful of toes (sorry drunk dude that stopped in the middle of the road to meditate).

Our first stop was the Strawberry Lemonade line.  It was about a 20 minute wait, but James fell asleep in the middle of the wait.  Although tedious, the wait was worth it.  The strawberry lemonade was much improved this year - or maybe my taste buds changed - who knows.

After getting our drinks we headed to Congo Square for Cee Lo and finally got a decent spot for the last 5 songs, which happened to include the hits, much to Luz and James' joy.  I had Jamesy on my shoulders so he could see and he was so excited he almost knocked me over a few times.   Cee Lo was covered in sweat but seemed to be enjoying it - cracking jokes and riling up the crowd.

After Cee Lo we headed to the Kids Tent and the kids were psyched - crafts, room to roam, toys, shade and popcorn.  I love this area and will be sorry when I don't have kids as an excuse to head over there and camp out for some decompression time.  While we were chilling out in the kids area Catherine caught up with us and we all headed over to the Gentilly stage to check out Feist.  The sun was setting, there was plenty of room to sprawl out, Fest was fabulous and the breeze cooled us off.  It was a perfect ending to great day.

The highlight for Luz and James, however, was the pit-stop at Catherine's house before our walk to the car.  They begged to stay and play and invited themselves over to spend the night next week.  I did not think I would be able to get them out of there.

Here are a few of the pictures from our day:

Pre-game, on the porch gardening and hanging out with Katie and Lily:

Hot and tired is not a good way to start out Jazz Fest:

 Crashed.  They have both done this at one point in their lives at JF:

Surveying the scene in the kids area:

Strawberry Lemonade, the best:

See Sawing:

Catherine!

Showing Catherine one of the many crafts:

Enjoying the cool grass, listening to Feist:

One of many shots that Jamesy took:

Playing his tambourine, helping out the band:

Easter 2012 - Part 3

Here are a few more pics from Easter weekend.

Playing in the hose/water gun fight:

Swinging under the gigantic oak trees:

Exploring:

Finding treasures:

Debating the back-story on the horseshoe:

Easter 2012 - Part II

I have more Easter pictures to share and I wish I could have done it last week but, once again, the days just got away from me (I became obsessed with reading The Hunger Games, starting watching Downtown Abbey, discovered that I had to wash all of the curtains in our house, and decided that I should  enjoy every minute of the MOST beautiful spring weather ever today).  Needless to say, here I am again on a Sunday night, facing yet another very busy (and fun) week.   I have a mid-week trip to Birmingham for work, but I am staying an extra night to visit with my favorite B'hamians and enjoy some cuddle time with my favorite two-year old twins!

So, here are a few more pics from our Easter weekend in Thibodaux:

My sweet godchild, Eliza, covered in Oreos:

Luz, James, and Christian planting mom-mom's cassia tree:

Jamesy, still riding his teeny-tiny 4 wheeler:

 Hunting eggs:

 James, playing with Luz's gardening kit:

Christian, getting ready to be annihilated by me on the mini-ping pong table that Pop built.  I am certain Pop put some magic into that construction because I rule (I have not lost a game in a decade):

I have one more batch of pics to post and I will do it soon, assuming I can tear myself away from The Hunger Games and Downtown Abbey.

Easter Pics 2012 - Part 1

Wow, life has been flying by.  I have such a limited amount of time that is purely 'my' time each day that it is tough to prioritize what needs to be done.  There is my first priority - time with the kiddos and that means that from the time I get home from work until they go to bed I am 100% engrossed in hanging out with them and it involves everything from homework to dinner and baths and bedtime stories mixed with the occasional board game, t.v. show or evening walk.  Once the kids are in bed there is the obligatory tidying up around the house, locating clothes for the next day, packing lunches, etc.  And then there is an hour or so of free time and it is tough to figure out what the priority should be - an hour of t.v. with Christian, a blog post, responding to a few emails for work (there is always work that needs my attention), and I recently started reading, The Hunger Games (I know, I know, but I could not resist - wait until you find out what is next on my list) and I am TOTALLY hooked.  All I really want to do is climb in bed and read...but I have all of these cute pictures from Easter that I have to share...so first things first:

The annual egg dyeing event

Sweet Papa George watching the kids:

Playing corn hole waiting for the crawfish to boil.  Yes, Luz is in a ball gown.  I do not know when she will outgrow her love of dress-up, maybe never:

Feet in pool:

Mr. Persnickity cannot stand to be dirty or wet or uncomfortable in any way.  Good thing in the country it is ok to run around without shorts:

More pics to come soon...now I need to devote some time to reading!

Jammin'

Luz's new favorite hobby is finding a quiet corner of the house, porch, back yard, bedroom, throwing on the headphones, and blasting the latest jams on her ipod touch.  The music is at a volume that is way too high for my taste and the songs are a little lacking in anything particularly inspirational, but she is only six and a half and in love with pop music and daydreaming about what she might do one day with her own voice.  Until then, she is singing at the top of her lungs without a care in the world, shielded from the rest of the world by the headphones and volume and her father could not be prouder:

Cousin Time

Lucy and James have enjoyed every minute of the time they have spent with their cousins over the past week.  Edward, Helen and 'baby' Eliza came in town from Kentucky for their Easter break and the kids have had some great adventures - exploring around the farm in Thibodaux, playing at Daneel Park, a trip to the zoo, lunch at Dat Dogs - they will be so sad to see them go at the end of the week.

I took almost 100 pictures over Easter weekend and there were a few decent ones but only one with all five of them in it and looking at the camera (sort of) :

Awesome Stuff

James and I took a walk to CVS this evening for a few odds and ends and an excuse to enjoy the beautiful weather a little more. He loves being outside and I love taking walks so it was a perfect conversation.  He did not stop talking the entire time and while we were browsing the aisles at CVS he stumbled upon this item:

and yelled, "look mama, that is you" as he pointed to the figure on the box.  The other shopper in the aisle stifled a laugh (and I did too) but I also beamed...of all of the ways that he chooses to identify me, I love that James thinks of me when he sees an image of someone running.  I love running and I hope that one day my kids will love it too and that our evening walks will evolve into evening runs.

Happy Easter

After what will likely be a long day at work tomorrow I am off to meet up with Christian and the kids for a few days of fresh air, visiting with family and friends, and an excuse to eat a little candy.  Lucy and James are bursting with excitement - hours of play time with their cousins who are coming in town from Kentucky, egg hunts, dying Easter eggs, the potential for endless amounts of candy, and the Easter Bunny - and they cannot wait for the fun to begin.

Here are a few pictures of James at the Sacred Heart Alumni Baby Party last week.  It was bittersweet because it was probably the last ASH "baby" party we will attend since he will be starting Nursery school next fall.

He loved hunting for eggs and was extremely conscientious, making sure that there were plenty of eggs left over for the other kids.  I do not remember being so generous when I was little.  He also liked the rather deranged looking Easter bunny.  I think his fear of "characters" is now a thing of the past after Pumpkinhead last October and now this bunny.

Mr. Persnickety

It is becoming clear that James is just not a "festival" type of kid.  He tolerated Jazz Fest well for the past few years, but I think that was largely due to the fact that he was just a baby and did not have much of a say-so.  Mardi Gras this year was a little touch and go - he was cold, he was hot, he was hungry, he was tired, he wanted to play with my phone...while the best free entertainment in the world was passing right in front of his eyes.  It pained me.

A few weeks ago, when Christian was in Atlanta, Luz and I decided to brave Hogs for the Cause, wanting to spend some time with Katie and MCB (who was in town for the weekend) and really looking forward to eating a bunch of different bbq/smoked/roasted/you name it, pork.  Five minutes in to our adventure James' crocs got stuck in a mud puddle and I realized that we were not going to be enjoying an afternoon filled with bacony deliciousness.  Luz and I tried everything we could think of but we could not calm James down.  I looked around and there were toddlers running around covered in mud, children throwing themselves into puddle after puddle, covered head to toe, almost unrecognizable.  It appeared to other kids that this was something fun.  Not James.  He hated the mud, he hated the water, he hated the crowds and the sun in his eyes and the loud music and that I could not carry him.  Defeated, I grabbed the two closest pork dishes for me and Luz and we left as quickly as we had arrived.  And it was at that point that I told James he is punished from Jazz Fest this year.

Here are a few pictures I took on our walk from the car...things were going pretty well:

Luz, sampling one of two dishes we got to try, this one was a Bahn Mi influenced po-boy and it was mighty tasty:

James, sad face, muddy shoes:

I actually had to take the crocs off and use the last of the bottled water to clean his toes.

These were taken the next morning when Katie, MCB and Lily the dog came over for breakfast...much more James' speed:

Drummer Boy

Here is a little clip of Jamesy doing his very favorite thing ever...drumming...Special thanks to his babysitters for capturing this moment and for sitting through hours of toddler drumming...there is not enough money in the world to compensate for that kind of torture.

Fresh New Look

Just in time for Spring...the most glorious, pastel-colored house on the block:

I smile every time I pull up to the house and I am anxious just imagining that in a year there will be a coat of dirt on the facade.  I want it to say beautiful and clean and perfect forever.

Remember, just a few weeks ago it looked something like this:

And now...

The new look is the result of the very hard work of Dali and his team.  It took a LONG time, but I appreciate why.  The guys would not paint when rain was near, had occurred recently, or the air was too damp.  It sounds a bit over-the-top but a little lesson in patience is always a good thing for me and a proper paint job is worth the wait.  Dali and his employees were always professional, neat, thorough, kind, receptive to suggestions and patient with my waffling over color and style.  They came highly recommended and we ended up picking them after considering a handful of similarly-priced estimates.  If you are in the market for house painting and have any questions, please email me and I will tell you all about what I have learned during this process.  I will also tell you not to bother with other estimates and to go straight to Dali and I guarantee you will be happy.