NOLA Weekend

All it takes is a 70 degree, sunny NOLA weekend to remind me why living here is a good thing and that, even though there is so much about the city that is tough to take, I cannot imagine being anywhere else. 

Our weekend was even better than just beautiful weather and excellent excuses to be outside because Nana and Papa-T flew down to visit us for a quick 48 hours.  We managed to pack in a ton of activity in two short days, but we also had plenty of r and r and a healthy dose of fresh air.

The gang...on our way inside the City Park Carousel Gardens:

Carousel...An Update

Remember, back a few months ago when Luz still hated the carousel,  but caved under the peer-pressure from James, and got up and rode white-knuckle style, looking a little something like this:

which, incidentally, was a vast improvement over every previous attempt which ended in kicking and screaming and buckets of tears - like at her 3rd birthday party:

Well...we have made even more progress.  We spent a quiet, hot morning at the Audubon Zoo recently and rode the carousel, mostly at James' insistence.  And, overall, things started much as I had anticipated they would:

but ended quite nicely.  See she actually enjoyed it:

When I was little my parents always called the carousel the 'flying horses' and, frankly, the name and then the images of the teethy horses, manes blown backwards, nostrils flared, always freaked me out a little.  So, I get it.  But at 6 you should be able to tackle the carousel with a smile...and she did, finally.

Life

While I was busy living it up in Annapolis for my cousin's wedding, pretending to be someone without a care in the world, I got a text from my friend, Elizabeth, that quickly took me back to reality. She had kindly agreed to cover for me and carpool Lucy to a skating birthday party (a tall task in light of the fact that Lucy had never skated before...ever).

Her text was as follows: "Congratulations, Lucy got to to take home Suzi Q, the class pet, this weekend. By the way, there is a lice epidemic at school right now so you might want to make sure Christian runs that thing in the dryer before the kids get too close to it."

I guess Christian did not understand the urgency of my request, or maybe it is just that he is a guy and does not have a huge appreciation for hygiene, or maybe he has never had lice. At any rate, late that night when I finally had a chance to talk to him he told me that he didn't bother putting the stuffed animal in the dryer because he figured it was "too late at that point anyway." Grrr. I was on pins and needles all weekend thinking about a lice infestation and my inability to handle one. And when I got home on Sunday I immediately checked heads, holding my breath the entire time, not exhaling until I was sure there was no trace of lice. Here is Luz with sweet, clean, lice-free Suzi-Q:

Happy Birthday to Me

I turned 38 years old today. 38. In two years I will be 40, at which point (as Luz so kindly reminded me this evening) I will then be 'over the hill'...yikes. So, yeah, I am feeling (and looking) a little old. But it was a perfect birthday weekend - a family wedding in Annapolis with plenty of time to visit with family members I do not see often enough, a lovely day with Christian and the kids visiting with friends and opening presents, and a delicious dinner with my family to end the weekend and celebrate in style. I totally relaxed this weekend - Christian and the kids stayed in NOLA and, although I missed them terribly (we all did), it was nice to have my hands and mind free - no chasing kids around and making sure they stayed out of trouble. Without my muses though I barely took any pictures. Fortunately, plenty of other people did... Here is one that Mary posted - me, with some of the cousins, at the wedding reception:

I am the old person somewhere near the middle, you cannot miss me.

Chuggington

James has been filling up the sticker charts I created as an incentive to help him potty train like it is his job. The reward - a trip to Magic Box to select a new train. He is an equal opportunity train collector - Brio, Thomas, no-name brand dime store set - he loves them all. Recently, however, he has become completely obsessed with Chuggington. The trains run on a wooden track that is compatible with the miles of Brio track at mom's house that are left over from when James' Uncle Josh was equally as crazy-obsessed with all things train. I see a train table in James' future, right?

What's New

I finally updated the blog design a bit. I have so many different ideas about what I would like to do with the blog, but there is just so little free time these days that it cannot be a priority. Consequently, I simplified things a little and decided I would start to feature some of my favorite old pictures in the blog header and rotate them in and out periodically because there are so many that I love.

And, speaking of pictures, I am in desperate need of a new lens. I never replaced the 'kit' lens after my first generation Rebel finally bit the dust (or was dropped one too many times) and I just cannot get the old lens to cooperate these days. It was sluggish for a while and now it is practically non-responsive and impossible to use. So, I am keeping my eyes on this little guy, which I hear is a versatile 'go-to' lens and is totally compatible with the Rebel.


It is a little more lens than I need (and probably a little more than I would know what to do with), but I have a birthday coming up soon, which means I just might be in luck.

Oh, while I am dreaming...it would be very cool to get a pair of these:


Newtons are supposedly THE latest in running shoe trends...maybe they will make me faster (yeah, right).

One more thing...I love these charms. I got a necklace with a "J" charm when I was a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding and I wear it almost every day. Now I just need an "L" to add to the mix and have Lucy represent!


But seriously...do you want to know what I REALLY want for my birthday? It is all very simple and the older I get the more I feel like I sound like my mom and dad when we asked what they wanted. What I REALLY want are the following things:

1. sweet, well-behaved children (which I have, mostly);
2. more time in the day to spend with sweet, well-behaved children;
3. more quality time with Christian (which I had today - we went to the Saints game together, without kids, and it was a perfect afternoon);
4. one morning to sleep late in a dark, quiet, cold room;
5. less work-induced anxiety (which I might have since I just settled the last case I have that was set to go to trial in 2011);
6. the ability (mentally and physically) to run longer and faster;
7. world peace; AND
8. a new sports bra

But, truthfully, I am very happy and feel blessed to have celebrated another year with people I love...because the BEST birthday present in the world is seeing things like this...and it happens all the time:





Luz & James outside of the Audubon Zoo, Luz's pick for an activity on a quiet NOLA morning after a little celebration at the Magic Box toy store to pick up James' reward for totally owning the potty this week - even while I was out of town for three days.

Summer Afternoon....Poolside

While we were in Thibodaux over the weekend we spent many hours by the pool. It was the first time in a long time that the water felt refreshing, even a little on the cold side.

The kids swam, lounged in the sunshine, blew bubbles, napped, enjoyed picnics and even occupied themselves long enough for me to read an entire Lucky magazine...the whole thing! It was a lovely couple of days.

Here they are next to the gigantic, inflatable whale that Uncle Richmond got them during his trip to the San Juan Islands over the summer. This guy was a big hit until he split at the seam (probably when I jumped on him):


A few more pics - the one of me is courtesy of Luz - she is getting pretty good with the camera:

Haircut...for Real

On Saturday James got a much-needed haircut and went from this:


to this:



and almost in an instant it seemed as if his personality changed too...and I know it was just me, thinking that he looked suddenly like a 'big' boy, but the personality fit...there were no naps over the weekend and all sorts of games involving running and jumping and screaming and so much talk...endless streams of questions and comments...and by the end of the weekend the haircut grew on me and it seemed a little less like the story of Samson and I could still see that sweet little baby inside when he told Winnie all about the sun setting over the sugarcane fields.

Who Dat Season

After a long day of driving that followed a somewhat contentious hearing and a sub-par night of sleep on one of the hardest hotel beds ever, I wanted nothing more than a large glass of wine and a peaceful night. I do not know exactly how it happened but for some reason James and Lucy were in rare form tonight. They were bouncing footballs off of furniture and each other, chasing each other around the house and running and jumping. Not that we sit in silence and knit and read most nights...but this was exceptional. I suppose they were excited about the possibility of staying up late to watch the first Saints game, or maybe it was the sugary Gatorade I let them drink with dinner. Or maybe they just missed me and were thrilled that I was home...I will believe that was the reason.

Here they are, in Saints gear, ready for the game:

Surviving Lee

After FINALLY beating back a virus that circulated the house for about a week we were looking forward to three days in the fresh country air, swimming, playing on the John Deeres and generally chilling out. The unpredictable storm in the Gulf over the weekend caused us to change our plans and we settled for three quiet days around the house instead. But there is not anything quiet about a 2.5 year old and there is not much that is quiet about a 6 year old who was sick in bed for three days and finally feels better. Needless to say, we all (well, almost all of us) experienced cabin fever just a few hours into our Tropical Storm Lee lock down.

Fortunately, what I initially dreaded ended up being a lovely, restful three days. I think it was a break that we all needed and there were some fabulous moments over the course of those days - lots of time to snuggle on the couch watching movies, a few mid-day runs in the cool rain through neighborhoods that are not on my usual route, walks in the rain and splashing in the puddles with the kids, blowing off steam at ASH's new gym (and a run on the new indoor track - it is incredible!), and sleep...plenty of it. I guess it is all just to say that sometimes there truly is a silver lining...and I appreciated all of this one.

James, before going stir-crazy:


James and C, ready for the UGA game:


James, playing Plants v. Zomies on the Ipad:



A trip to Audubon Park to ride bikes this evening after the sun sort of came out:

Luz, after asking C to take her training wheels off and then changing her mind...potty training and two wheel riding in one weekend is a little too ambitious considering our collective lack of patience around here:

Par For The Course

In keeping VERY true to form, Luz and James decided to trade around a nasty fever virus that sort of came and went over the course of three days and coincided with the first full week of the school year. It is always a chore to figure out how to juggle work schedules and sick kids and these guys have the uncanny ability to get sick at the very end of the school day, just in time for the school administrator to detect the illness and remind us that each kid must be fever free for 24 hours before returning.

This particular virus was just a fever virus but it was a tricky one. There were periods of absolute misery and discomfort mixed with bursts of energy that left the kids bouncing off of the walls. Christian and I tried to keep things quiet and peaceful over the weekend, but there is only so much you can do with a 2.5 year old. Fortunately, they discovered the joys of the Ipad over the summer and what was once an only very occasional treat became a fixture over the weekend.

Here they are, enjoying the Ipad, playing Plants v. Zombies, some game they discovered in Atlanta (thanks Papa-T):


They have been fever free all day (James since Friday) so I am really hoping to get back to the routine tomorrow. I have a trip to Lake Charles (for work) and things will get very complicated if the virus is still lingering.

Jamesy Firsts

James had his first bona fide 'playdate' last Sunday with one of his friends from ASHFIN, Grace. He could barely contain his excitement all weekend and told everyone who would listen that he was going to play at "Gracie's house". When we pulled up to her house and she was on the porch waving he practically catapulted out of his car seat. He enjoyed every minute of his time with Grace - playing with her many wonderful train sets, cooking in her kitchen, checking out all of her dress up and enjoying a peaceful lunch together featuring some of his favorite items -Gogurt and fruit gummies. It was the perfect day.

Here he is with sweet, adorable Grace:



I just love how his happiness is captured in the pics. There is no denying that he is totally psyched. Grace has graduated from ASHFIN and is headed to 'big girl' school, much to James' chagrin.

H O T

I cannot begin to describe how much I dread going outside in the middle of the day right now. The heat is totally exhausting and we are all in agreement that it is time for that first snap of cooler air.

For some reason I decided to take the kids to Audubon Park after school on Friday even though it was 97 degrees outside. I figured a cold Icee would keep them comfortable. As you can see from the picture, they were rather miserable:


They are obsessed with feeding the turtles right now. There are tons of turtles in the lagoon that is adjacent to the bandstand so whenever we have stale bread or cereal we venture out there. Generally 10 - 20 hungry turtles show up ready to eat. Last Friday there were eels in the water as well (at least I think they were eels)...hideous creatures...frightening in fact. We only saw two of them, but that was enough to freak me out. The kids did not seem to mind them. In fact, they thought the eels were kind of cool.

As if I did not learn my lesson on Friday afternoon, on Saturday I took the kids back out into the scorching sun. We went to the farmer's market Saturday morning - looking for peaches (but there weren't any) and we ended up with zucchini & squash instead (which I thought were winter veggies, but what do I know). After the farmer's market we headed over to the Ogden Museum for the Ogden Family Fair. Luz visited the Museum over the summer while at ASH camp and loved it. I had never been and was totally blown away. The mumseum is beautiful and interesting and totally manageable, even with a tired two year old. The Family Fair was incredible - so many wonderful activities for kids and games focusing on learning about and appreciating art. I cannot wait to go back when I have more time to look around and a not-so-tired two year-old on my hip.

The watercolor station, a big hit:



Luz, working on the scavenger hunt at the 'found objects' rocking horse:


Luz and James with their 'horsey' creation:


Luz, pinning the tail on the virtual donkey:


Outside of the Ogden Museum by the lamp post covered in stickers. I pass it on the way to work and love the colors:

Another Year, Beginning the World

School started today and I don't know what it was...maybe something about the new uniform and the fact that I have rather distinct memories of life in the ASH jumper, or maybe what seemed to be some small but profound developments over the summer that appeared to suddenly transform a baby into a big kid, or perhaps it was just that haunting sensation annoying me once again with the reminder that it is all happening just as fast as everyone warned me it would...whatever it was, I sort of felt the emotion more than I have in prior years. This morning I felt happy and proud and so incredibly blessed.

I Came to Dance

Somewhere buried deep in the middle of one of Luz's more recent summer mixes was a song featured only at her request and called Dynamite by a guy named Taio Cruz. From what I can tell, the song is all about this guy that is very serious about his dancing - something he plans to do all night while throwing his hands up in the air. Needless to say, it did not really make sense tucked between How do you Solve a Problem Like Maria and the theme song from Tangled, but it never seemed to bother Lucy or James and, in fact, it became an instant hit and one of the top requested songs of the summer.

After a few weeks it was clear that this was not something that was unique to my kids. Most of Luz's friends knew the lyrics, impromptu dance parties started up whenever the song came on, and summer camps around the country probably used it in their farewell celebrations - playing it while sweaty kids tried to do the robot. There is something about having a six year old that has made me appreciate pop music for pop music's sake again and that feels nice. I do not think I will ever LOVE it again, but I can tolerate it, and I cannot help but smile when the kids are listening to this (and yeah, listening, not watching the video - I do have limits):



and doing this:




Luz and James dancing to Dynamite while at the bandstand at Audubon Park after feeding the ducks and turtles one hot morning this summer. She is sort of doing the robot and he is just straight up "dancing".

End Of Summer

Summer vacation is finally coming to an end...Christian is enjoying his last few days of time off, the kids are using every excuse to stay up much later than their normal bedtime and sleep later than a kid in college, and I am benefiting from later than usual morning runs, long showers and late arrivals to work. It all comes to an end next week when the school routine begins. At this point I cannot fathom 5:30 a.m. runs, am dreading enforcing the 8 o'clock bedtime and am not sure how the kids and I will be dressed and out of the house by 7:30 each morning. Christian suggested a trial run this week, but I quickly put the brakes on that idea...why give up a lazy summer morning just to prove that we can do it? It is not like we have a choice. We have to do it, practicing is not going to make it any easier. So, for the next few days I am just going to enjoy every minute of a good thing while I have it.

A little round of early morning Leapster...don't mind if I do:


I guarantee there will be none of this in the morning next week. No, it will be all about waking up, getting dressed, brushing teeth, eating breakfast, packing bags and hurrying off to school.

At Last!

Have you been missing these guys?


Yeah, me too. They are back after a week in Atlanta spending time with the gang. I was busy with work and redecorating and purging and cleaning and really missing everyone.