Happy Birthday Christian

I am sure it was not exactly what Christian had in mind when he thought about how he wanted to spend his 37th birthday...

It started with a blueberry muffin breakfast and I added a candle just in case we did not have a chance for cake and singing happy birthday later in the day:



And it ended at the softball field, listening to his team sing a rather off-key rendition of happy birthday, dodging termites, drinking concession stand beer and watching the river rise:




Not what he had in mind, but not likely one he will forget either. Happy Birthday Christian...love, J.

Jazz Fest 2011

Last year it was all about the kids' tent...where had I been? Why did I not know about this oasis for fussy toddlers and exhausted parents? How did I miss the reduced price fare, the shade, the toys and the crafts? It was an incredible discovery and we were back again this year and loved every minute of it...except the part when James hit a spicey patch in the mac and cheese...yeah, I get it, it's NOLA and everybody likes a little spice, and James does not have a sensitive palate...I guess this was just a generous batch...


This year we discovered the misting tent and, once again, I was reduced to scratching my head and thinking "how did I not know about this place." It is not tucked away, off the beaten path, like the kids area. In fact, it is right on the side of the main drag and, even on a somewhat mild day, it is a refreshing treat that is not to be missed:



My overall review of JF 2011 is glowing - great weather, great crowd control, awesome bands, and delicious food. My top runners are still strawberry lemonade and crawfish bread but I also enjoyed a few Miller Lites and a couple of bites of a cochon de lait po-boy. Christian still counts the meat pies as his top runner, I think. My only complaint is the price, but, thanks the generosity of friends, we were able to make it happen and document it with a few pictures I will treasure:

Luz, finally working up the guts to kick out the jams at Fais Do Do:





Laughing and playing:


Jazz Fest high:



Heading home:

Happy Mothers Day

I had a perfect day. My greatest mothers day wish is that I am able remember the little details that made it special and smile many years from now. I want to remember the necklace I got from Luz, one she had made last summer at camp, one that I repaired many times with bits of tin-foil and twine. I want to remember her excitement, how she woke me up at 6 am to climb into the bed next to me, shower me with kisses, and tell me the first part of my present...to sleep late. I want to remember how she took my breakfast order the night before and made it precisely to my persinickity order...two whole grain toasts, one with nutella, one with almond butter, and an iced-coffee from P.J.'s, with one Sugar in the Raw. I want to remember the plate I ate it on...handmade by Luz with specific instructions not to microwave or place in the dishwasher. I want to remember that James slept until after 8 (thank you very much pal) and that he showered me with kisses and hugs and "happy mothers days".


I want to remember a lovely day with my family and friends and with my mom, my wonderful role model and best friend.



And I want to remember the beautiful end to it - the sun setting while I watched my dusty, sleepy kids, covered in bits of hay and Plum St. Snowball, heads spinning from the sights and sounds of the end of Jazz Fest..and as we made our way out, back to reality we happened upon a last little gift, Arcade Fire taking the stage to play with RAM, from Haiti.



I had a perfect day.

This Guy

Repeats everything that this girl


says and does


and I can only imagine that it requires a bottomless pit of patience on her part as well as a great sense of humor, and (thankfully) she has both.


He is also really really really into cars and trains (which is cool because he can hear the trains that run along the Mississippi clearly from our house), enjoys watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, can speak in complete sentences (despite there being only a handful of folks who can understand what he is saying), has an obsessive relationship with pasta of all sorts (much like his mama), and is 100% sweetness and filled with hugs and kisses.

M.M.E.

Aunt Moll was in town for Easter and a week in NOLA for some r and r. As always, the kids loved having her around and are somewhat mopey now that she is back in NYC. Right now when I start a sentence with "Guess what we are doing - -" the response is "going to see Aunt Moll." To say that they idolize her is an understatement.

Here they are at Pinkberry on her last night in town. She clearly looks more like James' mama than I do and, yes, Luz looks more like one who is about to be taken to the doctor for for a round of vaccinations than one who is about to eat frozen yogurt. I do not recall what the complaint of the moment was...

Jazz Fest 2011

When we first saw the JF 2011 lineup a few months ago Christian and I knew we would be there Sunday evening to close out the first weekend watching the Decemberists at the Fais Do Do stage. With the kids occupied at mom's house and visiting with their cousins, Jack and William, Christian and I enjoyed the first JF in a long time with no kids in tow and we had a ton of fun. Although Christian both opened and shut the place down, I did not get out there until after three...just enough time for crawfish bread, strawberry lemonade and a few laps around the track before the start of the main event.

It was a lovely afternoon, one we hope to repeat next week with kids in tow...weather permitting, of course:

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: