Ho. Ho. Ho.

Is it really Christmas? Can it be? It's 70 something degrees outside...I can actually see the grass growing and flowers blooming...they think it's spring. Thing is, I don't really know what's happening beyond my own front yard because I HAVEN'T LEFT THE HOUSE IN WEEKS. Hopefully our Infirmary is closing up shop this week. Looks like everyone is on the mend. Just in time for Christmas. Hope Santa wears shorts.

Speaking of Santa. I've tried to use Santa - or the threat of him not coming - as behavior modification for weeks now. Last night I told William if he didn't clean his plate and eat his veggies Santa wasn't going to come. He looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and said "I don't like Santa and I don't want to go to Christmas." Hmmm. So then I said "Well just hold your nose and eat this one bite of squash - you won't even taste it if you hold your nose. When I was a little kid I used to hold my nose to drink my milk because I didn't like milk. Did you know that I used to be a little kid?" He again shrugged and said "Uh huh. And I used to be a Mama."

Smarty pants. Wonder where he gets that from?

The Dreaded Christmas Card

Well it's that time of year again (actually it's about 3 weeks past that time) when you put together your Christmas card and photo to send out to family and friends, old and new, to show off your children or update everyone on the goings on of the past year. Christmas cards, schristmas cards I used to say....I could take them or leave them, send them or not. Before I had kids that is. Once you and your friends start having kids though everything changes and THE CHRISTMAS CARD becomes one of the landmark moments of the year. It's your one chance to show off those precious angels, in their perfect holiday outfit, in front of the perfect tree that you've decorated....or perhaps in their perfect ski outfits from that perfect family vacation you took last year.....or maybe you get creative and send out the picture of them in their perfect non holiday outfit in a cotton patch (Merry Christmas Y'all) or in their perfect swimsuit in the sand in front of your new perfect beach condo (Warm Wishes or Have a White Christmas)....you get the picture. Because you've received that perfect card. Perhaps just in yesterday's mail. But it wasn't from me.

No, sir. It wasn't from me. You see, I bought THE Christmas outfits a while back, envisioning the precious picture....William lovingly holding his little sister, surrounded by the overflowing Christmas presents under our gleaming tree. The gingerbread house that William and I had created would be displayed proudly to one side....you would almost be able to smell the pine...taste the cinnamon....hear the crackling fire. Oh how I was longing for the holiday season. And here we are. But there are no presents under my tree because the kids would tear them up. In fact, there are no presents wrapped because I've been so busy changing dirty diapers and disinfecting our house from Catherine's nearly 3 week stint with diarrhea (Happy Holidays!) and doing my impersonation of someone infected with TB after my more than one week stint with a cold and cough that won't go away. The tree is fake...yes I said FAKE....so the only smell of pine is from the tiny unlit votive out of reach of little hands which, if it were lit, would be the ONLY fire crackling in our house because we don't even have a fireplace (which is why our stockings are hanging on the bottom 1/3 of the tree). The tree is only partially gleaming because there are no decorations within reach of said little hands. As for the gingerbread house....r...i...i..i...i..ght.

So the pictures above were my last attempt to capture the spirit of the season while at a family gathering last week, but I haven't been able to figure out how to photo shop out the blue plastic crocs William insisted on wearing, or the Superman cape, or how to photo shop in the loving, charming scene I had pictured in my mind. This isn't even taking into consideration that trying to get a 3 year old and a 16 month old to cooperate and sit still for a picture is, as I've used this analogy before, like herding cats. Herding cats with socks on. An exercise in futility.

I'm not giving up the dream though. Perhaps next year we'll send warm wishes from some sandy white beach somewhere. For the time being though, and in case you don't find something from us in your mailbox in the next week or so, using the theme of the pictures above....Have a Nutty Christmas! We sure are.

Update on Catherine

First of all thanks for all who have been praying once again after we got what seemed like bad news with the recent ct scan. We have now talked to her Dr. in Birmingham who told us that things aren't quite as scary as they seemed from the radiology report. He said that although there are changes on that remaining portion of her right lung, and the mass is still there, he isn't concerned enough to want to do anything about it right now. He said that there is slight shifting in the chest cavity but again he's not worried about it right now. That's not to say that we might not be facing surgery again down the road, especially if she starts to get sick, but for now we're going to continue to monitor it through x-rays every few months and a ct scan once a year.

Please continue to pray for her health, that she will avoid any infections or sickness that might set her back. Also we can continue to pray for complete healing because I am thinking that God just needs a little more time with her to heal that lung. Thankfully Catherine has been the picture of health since she came into the world, defying the odds and leaving us to wonder if she really has had all of this going on inside of her? Trust me, some days it doesn't sound like she has only one good lung!

Aint Skeerd

For those who might have forgotten what happened last year when William went to talk to Santa, there's a refresher photo for you.

I am happy to report that after a trial run in Santa's lap last week, Santa is our FRIEND this year! William hopped right up and told Santa he wanted a Cars dbd (that would be DVD) and lots of other toys and a Jack in the Box. I looked at Andy and said HUH? Santa looked at William and scratched his beard and said...well....I sure don't get many requests for a Jack in the Box these days but I'll see if I can find you one. Of all things. A Jack in the Box. A scary little creation that should have been outlawed years ago. Those things freak me out. Even though I know what to expect I still jump. Oh well. I'll try to go in the other room before he gets to the end of the song. That is if Santa brings him one. He has to be a good boy. Right now it's all up in the air.

Soon we'll do the real deal and get our picture made with Santa. William will be wearing a T-shirt that says "Aint Skeerd."

Survey says....Turkey!

One of my favorite game show moments ever (not that I am a huge game show fan) is the one that they often show from family feud where the old guy (British I think) is doing the bonus round and he's asked and responds to the following questions in this order:

Q~Name something that you take to the beach.
A~ Turkey. (but it sounded more like....Tuhhhhkey)

Q~What is the first item you pick up in the grocery store?
A~Tuhhhkey!

Q~Name a food that you stuff.
A~ (with great enthusiasm I might add) Tuhhhkey!!!!!

So here we are heading into Tuhhhkey day and all I can say is I hope my severely frozen Tuhhhkey defrosts before tomorrow. I may have to move dinner time to a midnight buffet if it doesn't. I might also add that I've never personally fixed a Tuhhhkey so this will be a first. I'm excited to be hosting my first ever Thanksgiving. Lots to be thankful for this year. Most of all I'll probably be thankful for the Butterball hotline tomorrow afternoon.

Happy Tuhhhkey day!

Christmas in Mayberry

Last night was the annual lighting of the trees here in Mayberry and with a choir singing carols and the Mayor counting down to the big moment, the switch was flipped and the season had begun! I always look around to see if Norman Rockwell is there with his canvas to capture the scene. Choirs singing, hot chocolate and popcorn on every corner and Mrs. Clause (guess Santa was too busy getting toys ready) to greet the little ones. Charming.

Feeling Good

It's been an infirmary around here but I think we're on the mend. First William, then Andy, then Catherine, and I think I narrowly escaped the CRUD that made its rounds in our house as well as every other house I know of.

Andy left on Saturday to go to Atlanta for a few days and as he was leaving I was clinging to his leg begging him not to leave me alone with them. Not really. But I wanted to. Lest I ever accuse of him of not helping out all it takes is a few days being outnumbered for me to realize that there is power in backup. Of course when number three gets here unless we hire a personal assistant we're forever outnumbered and probably outwitted too. I made the not so wise decision while he was gone to get us all to church Sunday morning. Miraculously we made it there on time but not before I nearly lost my religion trying to get William dressed. He went wet noodle on me (all parents of 3 year olds know what I'm talking about). I would have just as soon been dressing Chucky the Alligator as trying to get pants, shirts, shoes and socks on William. Honestly, if he had asked to wear his Buzz Lightyear costume I would have happily said yes if it meant him getting dressed on his own. Of course I would have worn a sign on the way into church that said "He's Not Mine."

Happy to say Andy is back and I was able to go to the bathroom for the first time last night. Alone that is. So I locked the door and stayed in there for 3 hours.

My peace was short lived though when William woke up at 2 am calling for me because he wet the bed. This rarely happens so when it does I'm not really prepared for it anymore. But as I stumbled into his room and got him cleaned up he started hollering that he wanted to read the spider book. Then he wanted to watch a movie. No, William, it's the middle of the night and we're going back to sleep. So I told him to come with me and get in the bed in the guest room. He refused, of course, and instead went in the den where he sat in the dark and started crying because he wanted to watch a movie. I had two options. Either physically move him in the bed in which case all h-e- double hockey sticks would have broken loose, or leave him in the den crying and go to bed alone. I chose the second option. Andy woke up though and came into the den wanting to know what was going on, and scooped William up asking him didn't he want to go get in the bed with daddy. Of course he did. And in one swift move Andy was the hero and I was the villain. No worries though. I was a villain sleeping alone in a quiet room with no baby monitors and out of ear shot of the psychotic dog on the porch turning flips with every clap of thunder. And it felt so good.

Toilet Bowls and Totem Poles

The other day William was watching Little Einsteins and he got so excited about what they were doing. He started yelling that Quincy and June were searching for toilet bowls. ???huh? I walked in there to see what he was watching and asked him again what he said. He said "Mama, they are searching for toilet bowls!" So I watched for a moment and saw that they were wandering through a jungle looking for....totem poles. Totem poles, toilet bowls....same difference. At least to a 3 year old.

Speaking of toilet bowls. William is really into comparisons these days. He likes to ask whether something is big, or little. And then we usually end up having an in depth discussion about it. Except this morning. He had just finished pottying (number one thankfully) and walked in to the den where I was attempting to have my morning coffee and wake up enough to speak coherently. He held up a wad of (probably used) toilet paper right in front of my face and said "Hey Mama....is this big? or little?" Ewwww. So I told him it looked just the right size so scurry back in there and throw it in the potty and flush! He stood there a moment and said "But Mama, if it's big it will get stuck!" Very perceptive response but the whole scene was too bizarre and too early for me to appreciate it. Just go drop it in the totem pole and see what happens.

Good Times

Halloween Costumes - Buzz Lightyear and Ladybug. A close second for Catherine was the dress that her Holly Hobbie doll wears but the Ladybug got bigger laughs. We're ready though for the casting call for the next Half Pint if they remake Little House!


Not Halloween fun but just having fun at bedtime....and delaying the inevitable!

More Chocolate, Less Nerds Please!

So I think it should be an official Halloween rule that every house must hand out some form of chocolate. I dumped the kids' treat bags out and what was up with all the Nerds and LaffyTaffy? Ok I guess the kids like it but the pregnant Mamas need Snickers and KitKats! Must hit the half off sales this afternoon.

Halloween was fun this year. Buzz and the Ladybug had fun trick or treating...William had the program down...."Trick or Treat" (luckily he forgot the smell my feet rendition his Daddy taught him) and "Thank you!" Catherine however used her only and favorite word these days...."Hey!" Worked just as well.

Now on to Thanksgiving and....gasp....Christmas already? It's still 80 degrees here!

Something is wrong with the picture posting...will post pictures later.

Goodbye, Bean

Sad day for us. Our dog of 10 years, Jackson, aka Bean, passed away yesterday. We aren't really sure what happened, he just got very sick, very fast and like that he was gone. Annabelle, aka Poopsie, lost her buddy and we lost a loyal friend.

Andy and I got Bean when we were first married and living in Columbus, MS. I had only one friend at the time, Andy, and when we got Bean I then had two. He was my best buddy and I could always count on him to be waiting on me when I returned from school every afternoon. My fondest memories of that first year in Columbus (and for those who remember, I didn't have many) were the long walks Bean and I took, the many cold afternoons reading a book with him snuggled by my side and the one sure thing you always get from a pet: true unconditional love. I regret that the past few years since our children were born our dogs took the back seat...or the back yard rather....and we haven't put in the time with them we used to. We don't walk them much anymore, they rarely get to come in the house, and sometimes only occasionally get a pat on the head as we are hustling out the door to rush off somewhere. But they still love us nonetheless. Now that's true love.

From the mouth of babes: When we tried to explain to William what happened to Bean, we told him that Bean was gone and had gone to be with God in Heaven where he could run and play and wouldn't be sick. William said "But I don't seee God." We told him, no, you can't see God but we know He's there, watching us and loving us. He sends us the flowers and the sunlight and even the rain to remind us that He's here. So this morning, William looked out the window and saw the rain and he said "Bean is not gone, he's here." I said no sweetheart, remember, Bean's gone. And then I realized that he figured since the rain was here, God was here, and if Bean's with God then he's here too. Sigh. If only we could see things with such innocence and purity.

Maybe I'm just feeling a little too emotional this morning, but I can't help but think how sad the regrets are we have over a dog. Even sadder are the regrets we could have over each other. Life's too short for regrets. Maybe we should really learn the lessons our pets are here to teach us ~ make time to throw the ball more often, take more walks, give each other more than a pat on the head....and always love unconditionally.

Thanks for helping us learn and love, loyal friend. As soon as the rain clears up, we're going outside to throw the ball. I can't think of anything better we have to do.

Vacation pictures part I

Herding Cats

Just returned from a week long fall vacation. Went to visit the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and new puppy in Atlanta and then went on for a few days in the mountains. We set out for this adventure at about 5:30 on Wednesday night, thinking how great it would be to travel at night while the kids slept. WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!! I can't adequately recreate the scene without appropriate sound effects, but picture if you will: William sitting directly behind Andy, Catherine behind me. Andy driving in the pouring rain, me hanging over the seat searching for 8 lost pacifiers, Catherine hollering, William having mini meltdown and kicking the back of Andy's seat and Andy reaching behind alternating hands popping him yelling "STOP KICKING THE SEAT"....the louder William yelled, the higher pitched Catherine's wailing became....I reached over the backseat and grabbed William's face, put my face right in front of his where our noses were nearly touching and whispered...."please...please....please....for love of all things good....stop....kicking...your....father's.....seat. please. please. please." Momentary quiet as I drag myself back over the seat and turn forward for the first time in 47 miles. I stare straight ahead and say...who thought this was a good idea? To which Andy quickly replies....NOT ME! This was all before we reached the first Stuckeys.

I'm happy to say that we made it there and ended up having a wonderful time. We got to enjoy visiting with extended family at our cousin's 1st birthday party, visited the aquarium, shopped, played with cousin Jackson, relaxed at the cabin and rode Grand-daddy's "tractor" (4-wheeler). Oh....and played and kissed and hugged on sweet Cody the puppy. However.....taking two toddlers out of their own safe and comfortable predictable little environments is the equivalent of herding cats for a week. Actually, that would be easier. Sometimes there really is no place like home.

It's a Good Thing

Today has been one of those days. You know...days when you just seem a little off all day long? It started early, about 6:10 am to be exact. Some mornings I actually get up at 4:45 and go to the gym so I'm back home, exercised, showered, and psyched up, ready to catch all the balls that are thrown at me. Literally and figuratively. Today was not one of those days. William crept into our room in that pre-dawn hour and hopped up in the bed between us, plopped his little head next to mine and whispered "mama....I want a lollipop." In my drunken slumber I said sure...ok. I stumbled up the stairs and dug out the bag of dum dums (how appropriate) and asked him if he wanted strawberry or lemon. He said both. Sure...why not I thought....that's two fruit servings out of the way before 7 am. I'd like to say that after I turned on HigglyTown Heroes for him I went back to sleep but that didn't happen. So for the rest of the day I've been just a little off.

Case in point.

We've lived in this house a year and a half now and for a year and a half I've needed to do a little decorating. Actually a lot of decorating but a little would be an improvement. So today after we dropped William off Catherine and I went to the fabric store to see if I could get some inspiration. I need some window treatments in my den and I have an old sad little chair that needs to be slipcovered. I found myself perusing the silk fabric, found a lovely stripe that matched perfectly and actually said out loud "hmmm....this would make nice cornice boards." So I bought it. And as I'm paying for it the lady next to me says..."oh that's pretty fabric...are you going to make something with it?" And I reply...."oh yes, I'm going to make some lovely cornice boards for my den windows." Next...of course....she says...."oh really? how do you make those?" At this point the man handed me my receipt and I just looked over at her and said "mmmkay... you have a good one!"

Guess it's obvious I have NO IDEA how to make cornice boards. It's difficult to find time to floss my teeth, much less design and manufacture window treatments. But I do have some lovely fabric now. And that's a good thing.

Day at the Park

Such a nice pleasant morning so we decided it would be fun to go to the playground. William met a little girl, Olivia, who taught him all kinds of new things. She told him to bang his head on the pole, which he did. She then told him to yell across the playground "that's GARBAGE" which he did. (I've never heard him say that word...but I guess it could have been worse). Before she could teach him anything else new we left to get Catherine home for her nap. We need to have a talk real soon about listening to girls...I need to let him in on what happened to Adam.

I spent a week there one night....

Thought we would NEVER get home from San Antonio. I'm not kidding when I say this....we could have rented a car, left TX at 10:30 am (the time we left to get to the airport) and DRIVEN back to Mobile sooner than we flew back. We were delayed all day long, and then were THREE HOURS late leaving Atlanta. We then sat on the runway in that little plane longer than it took us to fly. GEEZ.

Was so happy to get home and see the babies. On Monday before I left I thought I'd scream if heard "mama, mama!" one more time....by Friday I was dying to hear it. Funny. Bought William a cowboy hat but it fits Catherine much better...Giddyup Cowgirl!

Remember the Alamo?

After my first full day in San Antonio and a not so memorable trip to the Alamo I'm exhausted and hungry and if I wait much longer in this hotel room while Andy schmoozes downstairs at his conference I'll be forced to eat my pillow. I'd take off for parts unknown by myself but there's a bus station one block away and I'm not feeling brave. So there's not much to tell about the Alamo. We went. We saw. Andy read every informative plaque from one end to the other and I sat on a bench and pondered why there were signs all over the place saying you couldn't touch the walls??? They've been there for like...what....nearly 200 years....I guess that's why. No one can touch them.

We ate at a really upscale fancy schmancy tex-mex place last night and Andy got his standard 3 cheese enchilada dinner and I got chalupas. We're just BORING. We could get the same thing at Los Taco in Mayberry. Came back and were in bed and asleep by 10. Woo-hoo!!! Wonder what us wild and crazy party animals will do tonight? Will report tomorrow.

Oh...I have to tell this though. I had a frightening encounter in the ladies room today while we were out and about. My friend Laurie actually reported on this on her blog and I thought it was a joke. But there is this hand dryer called the xlererator and I mean it is to be FEARED. I screamed when it came on and started looking for the skin from my hands it ripped off. Have mercy....next time I think I'll lean down and stick my face in it and get a free facelift.

Adios!

Happy Birthday William!

William turned 3 this week and it was an ongoing celebration. I think he's a little confused about when his actual birthday was since he had his little party on Saturday, celebration at school on Monday and on Tuesday, his birthday, he got to blow out candles again. Regardless, he was made to feel special! Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!

Mayberry's Most Wanted

Just in case you see my picture in the post office....here's what happened. The other day I needed one stamp, just one, or so I thought. I was in a huge hurry so I pulled right in front of the post office where I could see the stamp machine just through the doors. I grabbed two quarters and ran inside to throw my money in the machine, grab my stamp and run right back to the car. I throw one quarter in, no problem. The second quarter though was a reject and kept getting spit back out. This routine went about 3 rounds before I'd had enough and I hit...no, tapped....ok, pounded.....the machine and all of a sudden lights and sirens start going off. I didn't even bother to look up and let the security camera get a good picture (I've seen COPS enough to know you never look up) before I ran out the door and jumped in the getaway car. The more I thought about it I think....and I didn't learn this in law school....but it's probably a crime to tamper with federal equipment or something to that effect??? Anyway....I suppose I could represent myself if need be but....is it still called pro se when you're an attorney and you represent yourself??? Just wondering.
Today I had to go to the post office and went inside to mail a package. I wore a long blonde wig and glasses. And carried the baby in with me. I'm happy to say I'm still free.
Oh...here's the real kicker. Turns out I had a whole bloomin' book of stamps in my purse the whole time. sheesh.

The hills are alive....with the sound of music

Ok...so for some reason William decides that the thing to do this afternoon was to dress up as Capt. Feathersword the friendly pirate (arrrrrrrrr) and have his sister wear the monkey costume. The monkey hat was as far as we got with her but that seemed to appease him. Anyway...to make the scene more interesting he decided that he should be a violin playing pirate. Then...to make it all even more bizarre, he wanted to sit at the piano with me and sing Frosty the Snowman. As I'm sweating, doing the 14th encore, I spy my Sound of Music songbook and grab it, telling William we need to learn a new song. With visions of skipping through town this fall in homemade frocks from the curtains (I don't really have any curtains but you get the idea) I start playing Do-Re-Mi....thinking what a good Mom I am teaching him real music and so early! Apparently he was no longer inspired so he jumps off the piano bench and it goes something like this: (at this point I had moved on from Doe a dear and was on to something much more dramatic)

"Climb....ev---ery mountain..."

MAMA!!!!!!!!

"Ford....ev....ery stream....."

MA...........MA!!!!!!!

"Follow every rainbow....TIL....YOU.....FIND.....YOUR.....DREAMMMMMMMMM"!!!!!!

MAMA...MAMA....MA........MA!!!!!!!! I want to watch a movie.

Sigh. Just as well.....I'd probably find the piano on the front lawn if Andy ever catches William singing showtunes. Not that he'd be very happy with the paisley romper and knee socks either.

Cousins

We had so much fun with our cousin Jackson. It was nonstop action. Here are a few pictures from the visit.

Not so happy anniversary

Here are a few pictures from the trip to New Orleans and the coast. Appropriate on this anniversary weekend. Here's hoping Ernesto stays away from us all.Hard to look at the Superdome knowing what all happened there.
French Market still standing but no traffic and no people. So strange.
Sign seen in Pass Christian.
Stuff still hangs in trees everywhere.
Marina in Pass Christian.

Fear Factor

The other night I was home alone wishing I was an octopus while trying to feed the kids. For some reason, even though he's completely capable of feeding himself, William reverted and wanted me to feed him his dinner. His dinner was chicken pot pie (.49 Swanson's...his favorite...nothing but the best!) and Catherine's, because I still can control what goes in her mouth, was spinach and pasta. I had both the kids lined up, going down the assembly line, and accidentally put Catherine's spoonful in William's mouth. He went bat nuts. You would have thought I fed him breaded worms smothered in poo gravy. Then it hit me. Toddler Fear Factor. What a great show. They would be forced to ingest horrible things like milk and veggies, then they have to take a bath, use the potty on their own and....gasp....brush teeth. For the bonus round they would have to take a bath with their baby sister. I need to contact NBC asap.

Yoga Girl

Ok so earlier today I had some me time and indulged in a little retail therapy while Mom had some grandbaby therapy (I always picture the grandparents after we leave walking back in the house, looking at each other and saying...hear that? exactly.... silence!). Anyway....needless to say with all the excitement for the kids playing with Gigi and Grandpa all day naps didn't exactly fit into their busy agendas. Which was fun for them but not so fun for me tonight.

So we get home with two fussy kids and Andy tells me 20 minutes before he is leaving for his Chamber meeting that he has to do a Blues Brothers skit and could I please help him find appropriate music and clothing, including cool black sunglasses. The scene was something like this:

William is in his room in nothing but his underwear banging on the door and screaming to get out and go tee-tee. (in case you're wondering why he was trapped in room twas because of earlier meltdown when he literally wouldn't pee OR get off the pot. We don't allow public meltdowns. Thus his entrapment).

Catherine is eating her dolly's hair as well as every piece of @&*#(@ on my flithy floors and whining because she's starving and the #^&*$ and doll hair isn't tiding her over.

I'm scrounging through the CD cabinet, knowing that half the cases are empty because we have never been able to put CD's back in the correct cases, so I'm hollering at Andy saying "Will Barbra Streisand or Kathie Lee Gifford do?" He gives me a dirty look and says "Don't you have the Animal House soundtrack?"

"NO....but I see Wiggles Hoopty-Do...you know all the moves to that!"

I get another dirty look. I hand him my not so cool Jackie-O sunglasses and tell him that's all I have in black. Had I been given prior notice I might have done better. Can't save everyone. Did I mention that in the middle of all of this the grizzly dog outside is trying to attack the UPS driver? Poor Brown.

So here I am by myself during the witching hour, eyeing my new cool t-shirt I bought today that says "Yoga Girl" and thinking I really need to learn to find my center. Hmmmmmmm. Hmmmmmmmm. Hmmmmmmm.

Went to the levee but the levee was gone

Andy and I just returned from a quick overnight road trip to New Orleans to celebrate our anniversary. Ten years. Years ago we started talking about where we might go.....Hawaii....Europe....some romantic deserted island. That was before we had kids.

We still had a great time though but my oh my the devastation there one year later. We stopped off in Gulfport on the way over and drove as far as Pass Christian....at least what's left of Pass Christian. Hard to tell there is even a town there. No people. No businesses. No churches. No streets even. Still. One year later. I noticed a teddy bear propped up against a pile of rubble. Hard to believe he's been there a year but I still couldn't help but wonder what his story was and who he used to belong to. It's the little things that get you thinking.

New Orleans was a little different. If someone just dropped you in the middle of the French Quarter you might think something was amiss because of the astonishing lack of crowds (we walked right into Masperos) but there is little to see as far as damage. New Orleaneans haven't lost their sense of humor though as the many t-shirts for sale show. The levee line is probably the cleanest one I can post here as I plan to keep my G rating. Lets just say they aren't complimentary to FEMA, Nagin or Blanco. Imagine that.

In spite of everything that place is fighting to come back. Our service and accommodations were outstanding and we felt so welcomed there. We'll be back.

Pictures coming soon.

Fabulous Firsts

Catherine's first birthday is actually not until tomorrow but we celebrated on Sunday. Can't believe she's already a year old and oh so close to walking. She stands on her own and then gives herself a big hand because we always clap for her when she does it! There were more firsts for the birthday party. I baked a cake(from scratch that is) and made a seafood quiche I had never made before...not always a great idea for a special occasion but they both turned out fabulous if I might say. The recipes have been requested so I'll post those later. The birthday girl loved her cake and ate every last bite...not a surprise at all.

Frog Cheese Chicken

I promise that every entry isn't going to be a recap of William's dinner but this one's too exciting to keep to myself. Those who know this child know that he won't let a vegetable cross his lips. I thought I had tried every which way to get him to eat them. I've begged and pleaded. I've bribed. I've tried reasoning with him. Example - The other night I put ONE bean on his plate...just one tiny little lima bean. I told him that Baby Catherine was eating them (of course Mikey eats anything but that's another post altogether) so he said she could have his too. I told him that I would eat one if he ate one and he told me I could have his and that would make two for me. Tonight though I tried something I've never tried before: trickery. I have a wonderful baby/toddler cookbook (I'll have to post that link too) so I tried a new recipe for chicken and spinach. I put a big helping of spinach in his Wiggles bowl, topped with chicken, topped with a white sauce and some sprinkles of cheddar cheese. I thought about trying to hide the spinach but I knew he would find it and go nuts. So instead, I announced loudly "I have a SPECIAL dinner for you tonight....a special green FROG dinner (don't really know where that came from...guess I was inspired by the green)." I got a little green gummy frog, put it on the side of the bowl and told him this was the frog's favorite meal and he was going to sit there and watch William eat it. William took one look at it and said "OH COOL.....FROG CHEESE CHICKEN!!!!" He gobbled it up, ate the frog as dessert and then...I'm not kidding....proceded to LICK the bowl to get the rest of it. Unreal.

They call him Flipper, Flipper, la la la laaaaa la

William graduated from swim school last week, Swimma Cum Laude I might add. We are very proud. Actually he really did do great. We weren't surprised though given that we discovered this summer at the pool that he is part fish. Here are a few pictures, including the graduation "ceremony" where they played that darned Flipper song over and over so I still can't get it out of my head....only wish I knew the rest of the words.

Trial and error

I was trying to post this picture at the top of the page but I can't follow the complicated directions. Something else I didn't learn in school. So anyway...here is a picture of me and the little darlings at Easter. Will try to figure this picture thing out and learn to navigate the blog better.

What they don't teach you in law school

Finally joined the cult and became a blogger. I've gone from brief writing to blogging about potty training and Snoopyburgers. Glad that the 3 bar exams I passed and the monstrous student loans I amassed are paying off. Three years of law school never taught me how to feed a picky toddler though, something that I'm having to learn on my own. My own creativity is beginning to amaze me if I am honest. Case in point...tonight we grilled hamburgers, which I've never been able to get William to eat. That is...until a regular hamburger became a Snoopyburger. I pulled out the ole Snoopy cookie cutter (thanks to Mom who salvaged it along with the rest of the Peanuts gang cutters left over from when I was a kid), cut Snoopy out of the hamburger bun, loaded that dog up with meat and cheese, put it in front of William to which I got a "WOWWWWWWWW"...."COOL!!!!" He ate very bite. Sheesh. Now if only I could figure out how to turn broccoli into Snoopoli.