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:

W O W

My beautiful grandmother, James and Luz's GG, celebrated a birthday earlier this week and, although I could not be there in person for the cheers because I was making my way home through the lovely Eastern Kentucky mountains, I was there in spirit.

And when I finally made it home very late last night after what seemed like hours and hours of somewhat risky travel through fog and up and down narrow mountain passes and then thunderstorms dumping hail, I saw this picture and it took my breath away:


When I am 84 I would like to be just like her. Happy Birthday GG, with all my love.

Warm Weather Weekend

It is hard to believe that it has been a week since my last post. There is no question that it was a crazy week, but I can usually muster at least a post or two. I have been incredibly busy at work and James has become increasingly challenging to put to sleep at night so the time to write even a quick post has dwindled substantially, along with any bit of energy I had to be creative.

Fortunately, we had a lovely, mostly mellow weekend enjoying the warm weather and I managed to catch up on some of the things I love most - time with Christian and the kids, running, reading, taking pictures and cleaning. Well, I did not really clean, but I did pick up all day every day...toddlers are messy, and so are 5.5 year olds for that matter. Christian took my car to the car wash today too, so I guess that sort of counts as cleaning.

Before I enjoy the last few minutes of my weekend I wanted to share some pics of the kids I took during the soccer game on Saturday...I was playing around a bit with the camera, using some manual settings and I edited the pictures on the computer for a 'cleaner' effect because the pics are not properly exposed. Interesting. I still love the auto setting because I am lazy and don't really have the time to learn enough about the proper shutter speed and f-stop combos...but this was fun,

Loki, Lok, Lokinator, Oakley

Over the past few months we noticed that Loki seemed to be slowing down. His barking slowly decreased in volume, duration and frequency to the point where it is now pretty rare to hear that incessant barking that used to drive me batty. His ability to run 10 miles is long gone, in fact, 3 is a stretch these days. He has lost 8 lbs since his check-up in October and he seems just sort of, well, old these days.

There's no question that Lok, once the main focus of our attention, became second in line after Luz was born and then third in line after James was born, but he has to feel the love. First thing in the morning and last thing at night, I spend a few minutes with him reminding him he is loved, scratching the backs of his ears, tempting him with treats and daydreams of running through the sugar cane fields. We have our quality time together. And, yeah, I occasionally forget to fill his water bowl and maybe he misses a meal or two, but I have always been the one to take him for long walks at sunset and interesting runs around NOLA at daybreak.

It is clear to me, though, that our time with Loki is special right now, and so when the sunlight is just right and he seems so perfectly content I smile and try to remember to be thankful that he is why Luz and James will always love dogs.

Mardi Gras 2011 - Part 3

Thoth Sunday is always the highlight of Mardi Gras for me. After an absolute washout on Saturday for Iris that left us trudging through calf-deep flood waters, the beautiful sunny Sunday was a welcome treat. The crowds were horrendous because the rain on Saturday resulted in the relocation of Endymion from the usual Mid-City route to the Uptown route following Bacchus. The shift is always a total bummer for everyone involved - Endymion in Mid-City is a huge tradition (not one I have ever really participated in, but an important one for Mid-City folks) and adding another parade, especially one with a fan base like Endymion, to Sunday makes for a logistical challenge and an exhausting day.

I know...complaining about a day of parades sounds silly but there is something to be said for simplicity and restraint. In my opinion, there is some merit to the idea that we should return to the old days of one parade a day and one or two stuffed animals per parade.

We took it all in stride, paced ourselves, made friends with territorial parade-goers who roped off large portions of the neutral ground making it almost impossible to get kids to and from the ladders, and most of us made it to and through all of the parades...most of us.

The highlight of the day/night was not even the parades - though Bacchus and Endymion were beautiful to watch - so perfectly bright and big and entertaining - but hanging out with family and friends who made a special trip just for the occasion. We loved meeting new babies out and about for their MG debuts and catching up with old friends and family members we do not see often.

A few other highlights from our week were the annual ASH Krewe of Smocks (despite the relocation to the gym because of the rain), Friday po-boy lunch with the family, and Proteus and Orpheus Lundi Gras night (two beautiful parades - in two totally different styles - old and new).

Mama on the ladder...up there just to catch one of my friends in Thoth...snagged my favorite catch of the year...a set of Saints bobble-heads which were shared with friends and family before I could snap a pic. On Sunday Lucy started out in purple play clothes but it only lasted an hour - she ultimately settled on her go-to pink gown:


Barbara and Auntie Ruthie...boas:


Betsy with my sweetheart - world's best baby ever - goddaughter, Eliza:


Lu and Edward...his first MG...and I think he is hooked...and yes, she is in costume:


Lundi Gras morning...this is how tired everyone was...unfortunately some of us had to wake up and go to work:


Lu with Emma, waiting for Proteus to start...note modified Snow White costume in this shot:


Celebrating Papa-T's birthday...this one is in here to show you yet another costume...this time with a feeble and frightening attempt at makeup as well. Gag.


Mama and Superman, waiting for Rex:


MG day meltdown...Superman had enough:


Headed home after Rex...I get the feeling next year we will not be able to avoid the truck parade:

Mardi Gras 2011 - Part 2

We were lucky enough to have Nana, Papa-T, Aunt Ruthie, and her sweet friend, Barbara join us for the second weekend of MG parades and festivities. They stayed at a bed and breakfast just a few blocks away and had no trouble getting to and from our house on foot for parades. They managed to pack in a ton of activities while they were here. They did not miss any parades, made it to the French Quarter a few times, and still managed to have enough energy to keep up with the kids. It was great to have them around and, honestly, I don't quite know how I would have managed the Thursday night parades without their help since Christian was riding.

Here are a few of the highlights:

The start of Chaos...love the demon/monster heads flanking the float. It is a sub-par picture because my camera was totally uncooperative when I took night photos. I still have not figured out what the deal is:


Nana, Ruthie & Barbara, parading:


Aunt Ruthie & Barbara were interviewed for the WDSU 10 p.m. broadcast that night; they were famous:


Incidentally, that news person did a number of 'stories' MG week from the back of Lucy's original, yellow MG ladder, this one:


It is hard to mistake! Oh, and don't be fooled by the white sweater, she was in a lovely pink, taffeta number that day, it was just a little chilly in the morning.

Papa, not looking too psyched to be up on the ladder again. Check out Luz...Thursday night was the white with gold lame ball gown...such a statement and yet she looked so natural, so comfortable, so matter-of-fact in it all night:


C, Thursday night, looking for Nana, Aunt Ruthie, and Barbara...tacky MG boas ready to go:


Here is Richmond, about to unload some cups (incidentally, maybe I have lost my touch, but I seem to have caught substantially fewer cups this year...wonder if less were thrown):


Another Thursday night float - entertaining satire:


More to come...

MG 2011, Part I

For the past two years I have really enjoyed Mardi Gras but I have also found that I am turning into a bit of a curmudgeon. The crowds tend to bother me more than they used to, the territorial parade goers get under my skin with their roped off sections of land and bottomless buckets of chicken, and the length of the season wears me out. I suppose I just don't have the stamina I used to have and, now that I have kids, there is a new, exhausting, dynamic - there are ladders and snacks and drinks and bathroom breaks and bead sorting and defensive and offensive parade watching and tears and melt-downs and absolute, blithering-fool type exhaustion. That said, I cannot imagine living anywhere else and missing out on two weeks of celebrating.

We spent the first weekend of the Mardi Gras season watching parades with friends who were in town from Atlanta. It was their first MG experience and it was just right - great weather, just a few parades, and not too much of a crowd. I think the they enjoyed every minute of it and headed back to Atlanta with bags filled with beads and trinkets.

First parade of the season...dusk (incidentally, I believe parades look best at dusk):


On the porch...taking a break...looking back at the pictures I see this is when the 14 days of dress-up started...Lu has on an old leotard and skirt here, harmless enough, but it escalated as it got closer to MG...you will see...suffice it to say I washed more costumes than underwear over that two week period of time:


Waiting for the next parade to start...


Enjoying some cotton candy...there was plenty of this going on:


We also visited the float den to check out some of the floats in Christian's parade. I love seeing the floats in the den - such a cool sneak-peek of what the parade will ultimately look like. Lucy and James love it too - mostly because they get to climb on the floats.

Lu, on Christian and Richmond's float:


James, helping Uncle "Ichman" get last year's rain-out beads ready for loading:


Group shot with Karen, Davy and the kids...saying goodbye after a weekend of fun ending with breakfast at P.J.s: