What?

Sunday

2012-01-08T13:57:00.001-08:00

Laundry, too many Hershey kisses, coffee, and Footloose on TV.

I hate to say this but...

2012-01-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

the toilet is clogged.

Ella walked into my bedroom to inform me of this last night. The worst part is that the toilets are clogged several times each week. As I was plunging away last night I noticed that the plunger has split. It's given us 7 good years of service. RIP $1.99 plunger. You will not be missed and will be easily replaced.

Swap Meet

2011-09-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

Internet, It's time to admit that I still own a pair of short-alls. This weekend I am going to a swap meet and while I do not expect anyone to take these things, I can certainly bring them to Goodwill after they have been rejected. Goodbye Old Friend. I am pretty sure 34 year old professional woman do not wear short-alls.

This and That

2011-08-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

I was deleting old email the other day and came across the following completely unrelated things:

1. My summary of our trip to Smoky Mountains: The trip was fun. We did lots of hiking, which was the best part. The drive home was endless, but the kids did really well in the car considering how long we were in there. The cabin was really beautiful and there was a creek on the property. They had a fairy door on one of the trees that fascinated the kids. There was a bunk room with six beds and stocked with toys. We got snow on two of the days we were there. I think we all enjoyed it.

2. A NY Times recipe for cookie dough: http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/let-it-dough/

3. Recommendations for vegetarian cook books:

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone: http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Cooking-Everyone-Deborah-Madison/dp/0767927478/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292246646&sr=8-1

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Vegetarian-Meatless/dp/0764524836/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1292246646&sr=8-2

Both of those books are like Bibles of vegetarian cooking. They have everything from every type of cuisine.
The Mark Bittman book is the more practical of the two. He’s The Minimalist (NY Times cooking columnist) and his approach is simple meals with few ingredients.

4. Interesting article on running: Here, though, is the radical proposition that’s starting to gain currency among researchers studying masters athletes: what if intense training does something that allows the body to regenerate itself? Two recent studies involving middle-aged runners suggest that the serious mileage they were putting in, over years and years, had protected them at the chromosomal level. It appears that exercise may stimulate the production of telomerase, an enzyme that maintains and repairs the little caps on the ends of chromosomes that keep genetic information intact when cells divide. That may explain why older athletes aren’t just more cardiovascularly fit than their sedentary counterparts — they are more free of age-related illness in general.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/magazine/28athletes-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

5. Pre-Thanksgiving email: We are bringing cheese and crackers for appetizers. We are going to meet everyone in Harahan on Thursday. Wednesday after work we have to go pick up the kids in Mississippi.
On Saturday Julia came to me all excited and said she had a surprise. She had wrapped Ethan and Anna’s Christmas presents in birthday wrapping paper in the amazon boxes with the receipts inside. So pre-gift explanation of our strange gifts.

This, just please take a moment and click this link

2011-08-11T15:14:00.001-07:00

You won't be sorry.

Scene from Vacation

2011-08-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

We met some nice people from Marietta Georgia while we were at the beach. Their kid played with our kids. They were staying at the same condo complex. One day we were all at the pool. I was wearing a swim suit that I bought when Julia was a baby. It's a two piece. I was in the pool with the kids, while the Marietta couple were lounging in pool chairs. I was facing them while taking turns throwing Charlotte and Ella up and into the water. Imagine the trajectory of a child being thrown into the water while the thrower is standing in the pool. I hold them under their arm pits, heave them up as high as possible, and thrust them out. Generally their body moves forward while their arms and legs flail about a bit before splashing into the water. On the end of those legs are feet also flailing about. One of those feet caught my swim suit top just right. Out popped a boob for our Marietta couple to see. It was awesome.

Moral of the story? 10 year old swim suits have very little elasticity left. Throw them away. Do not wear them in public.

Girl Scout Campout

2011-07-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

I am ready for the campout. The Girl Scouts are very ready for the campout. That morning we packed our bags – flashlights, clothes, swimsuits, bug spray, sunscreen, towels, sleeping bags.
We arrive and survey the cabins. The cabins are used every weekend and the scouts have to pass a cleaning inspection before they can leave, so how dirty can the cabins be? In the three small cabins we occupy we find – 5 bird nests, countless tumbleweeds of dust covering every surface, three dead roaches and one live one, dozens of spiders and other small insects, and one band aid wrapper. Mattresses are taken outside and swept off, insect carcasses are removed, and floors are swept.
It’s time for the first activity of the weekend, the challenge course. In preparation we rub and spray ourselves with sunscreen. The girls swing on ropes, climb over rope spider webs, and move impossibly heavy wood planks. They are awesome.
Next is the campfire meal and sing along. In preparation we are all coated with bug spray. The girls prepare their own meal, which is declared fantastic. They make s’mores with impossibly large marshmallows and revel in their stickiness. They pose for photos with their lips stuck together by hardened marshmallow. Chocolate melts into their fingers and then licked clean. Many rousing rounds of “Down by the Bay” are sung before we head off to the cabins for the first sleepless night.
The next morning hats are donned to hide dirty heads and shield eyes from the sun. Everyone gets their second layer of sunscreen. The day’s activities begin with archery. It’s a success with one girl actually managing to get an arrow into the target and no girls sustaining major injuries. Next we are on to canoes where the girls all make a point to maneuver their canoes under the “fountain” in the lake. The girls realize this as a mistake pretty quickly as they make their way to lunch with wet socks and shoes.
Afternoon brings three hours with the horses. The girls get to hangout with the horses in the barn and groom them. They get to ride for an hour in the dusty arena. The parents sit on the bleachers to giggle at the grumpy teenage Wranglers and get coated in a layer of dust each time a girl passes on her horse. We are thankful that there is no poop scooping in the barn this year.
It’s another layer of bug spray before the evening bonfire and more s’mores. We head back to the cabins after an exhausting day. Several of the girls decide to shower tonight. None of the moms want to shower. We are leaving early in the morning and our own grime seems preferable to whatever we would pick up in the showers. Besides the day is over, the kids are relaxed and we just need to get through the night. In the relative quiet we sit and talk about the things you talk about with other moms. We wish for wine, we wish for sleep, we talk about LEAP tests, shared love of pickles, and our single most pressing desire – a hot shower in the morning. As the evening winds down another mom and I head to the bathroom to wash up before bed. We find one overflowing toilet and some water coming up from the drains in the bathroom floor. I grab a plunger and try to plunge the toilet. Nothing happens. I walk to the next stall, find a giant turd and exclaim “Eeeuuwww!” I then walk to the third stall, find yet another giant turd, and exclaim “Oh Really! Come on!” I decide it is time to determine if this is really one clogged toilet or an epidemic. I decide to just go for it and flush. Water gushes from the bottom of the toilet and spills out onto the floor as though I had just turned on a water hose, a raw sewage water hose. The drains in the floor begin their imitation of Old Faithful raw sewage style. This whole time we laugh deliriously. This is just the most impossibly ridiculous situation.
The ranger is called out and unclogs the line. We find out this is a common occurrence here. They do their thing and tell us we are good to go. We walk slowly to the bathroom to survey the damage. Black sludge and toilet paper cover the floor. We are exhausted, operating on a couple of hours of interrupted sleep. Here we are layered in the goo of two days of sunscreen and bug spray, coated in horse dung dust, mosquito bitten despite our best efforts and trudging through raw sewage in our flip flops and tennis shoes. We fill buckets with water and bleach to toss on the floor. Then we fill more buckets with water and bleach to toss on the floor. We scrub and we scrub and we sweep water into the drains. We bleach toilets to clean away all of the detritus left behind in the overflow. We clean the bathroom and we are dirty. We are disgusting beyond belief. We wash our hands to the elbows, we wash our feet in the sink, we brush our teeth, and we go to bed. We are the moms of girl scouts and we always leave places cleaner than we found them.
My shower the next day was truly divine. So divine in fact that I took one before my two hour nap and one after my two hour nap.

Here, now, this, and that

2011-07-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

Do you think it is cruel for us to pump our kids full of ideas like:

You can do anything you want to do;
You are a sweet and special snowflake who can be anything if you just set you mind to it;
You are a brilliant artist/wonderful reader/curious scientist/extraordinary mathematician etc.

I think it is. The reality is that no matter how hard we work, how smart, or how talented we are, many of us won't find fulfillment in our occupations despite the grandiosity of our dreams. All that time we spent in school learning American history and algebra will keep us from saying something stupid at the staff potluck or teach us how to figure out how to double our favorite recipe, but will it really get us to a place in life that will allow us to be extraordinary in some way? Even if it does, will that bring happiness? Why tell a child that they are extraordinary just for being an ordinary kid? If we are very lucky we will find work that pays the bills and provides time and extra cash for travel and drinking interesting cocktails and eating amazing food. The real fulfillment in life if we are really lucky will be from enjoying the people we fill our personal lives with no matter what occupational heights we reach.

I'm starting to think that it is far more important to teach our kids how to have meaningful relationships and how to be kind and respectful. If only I knew how to do that. I'm not saying that working hard and applying yourself at school is mutually exclusive from building strong friendships. I'm saying that all of the emphasis of childhood seems to be on building an academically and athletically strong child, rather than one who can maintain friendships and show empathy, and be a good member of a community, and recognize the entirety of the world and the smallness of their place in it.

I Declare Bullshit!

2011-03-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

I'm 33. I had a root canal about a year ago and I need another. I have extreme anxiety associated with the dentist after my crown experience. I still can't quite believe it. Every time I get my teeth cleaned I get complimented on how great everything looks and how little cleaning the hygienist needs to do. I need somebody or something to blame for this. Everything has an explanation right?
At least I have the answer finally to all the jaw pain I've been experiencing. Chronic pain can really decrease your enjoyment of everyday life and decrease your ability to deal with children bickering with each other. I'm not proud of my inability to handle even the smallest fights amongst the children over the last few weeks. There has been much yelling and crying on my part, which is really embarrassing now that I can think forward to a time when each day won't be filled with unexplainable pain.

On a happier note, I pulled a door stop out of the washing machine today. One of my kids apparently snuck a doorstop into their pocket. Watch your valuables and not so valuables when my kids are around. They love to sneak little bits of this and that. Now to figure out where they found it.

I'm not always a terrible parent. I taught the girl scout troop how to finger knit. I also taught my three to practice before I took my show before the scouts. Everyone loved it. The girls really got into it. My kids are still making scarves and belts and headbands. Yay for being crafty.

Fire Safety

2011-03-02T15:13:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago Charlotte and Ella came home with a fire safety checklist. We practiced safety drills. We drew a map of our house and marked all of the potential exits. We walked around the house and counted all of the smoke detectors. We tested all of the smoke detectors. Not a single one worked because not a single one had batteries. I felt pretty ashamed of myself because I was the one who removed them. So we dutifully replaced all the batteries and the kids got their Fire Safety badges.

Cooking roast chicken today. Two smoke detectors now no longer have batteries. I was interrupted three times writing this by BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP! Windows open, vent on, door open, AC running and still the BEEP! BEEP!

Fire safety or my sanity? Today sanity wins. Tomorrow I will try to be the good mom and replace the batteries.

Here and There

2011-02-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

I read blogs fairly frequently and the best bloggers have a way of describing a moment in their lives that makes you relate to them in a way that I don’t think we usually relate to other people in our daily lives. Maybe it’s just the mark of a really good story teller that we can enjoy a story about a trip to a
restaurant for breakfast, the time someone backed into the corner of their garage, or the adoption of a new puppy.

I’d like to be able to write more frequently, but I often feel like I only write when I’m really annoyed about something. I don’t want to be the person that always complains. Also, my thoughts recently have been so scattered that I can’t think on one subject long enough to put a few coherent paragraphs together. I have pretty much stopped taking pictures also. All creativity seems to have leeched out of
my brain over the last couple of years.

Since I can’t piece together a story, here are some bullet points:

-In my office every floor has a main elevator lobby. Each lobby has three access points to the floor. Each access point is locked with a badge scanner. Occasionally something goes wrong and the doors won’t unlock. There are still two more access points, so you may walk a little bit further to get to your desk or to your meeting, but so what? Currently the door closest to my desk is broken. My desk is the closest to the door. There is a sign on the door that say that it is broken and has been reported (3 days ago – still broken). ALL day long people try to get in through that door and it never opens. They read the sign, then they try again. They knock. They jiggle the handle. The push really hard once,twice, three times. They mutter. They curse. They eventually walk around. From my point of view this sounds something like - Beep! (badge scanner), thunk, jiggle jiggle, bang, Huh!, bang... Beep! Jiggle
jiggle, pause, jiggle jiggle, Curse! Defeat. Silence.

On Tuesday this annoyed me. By Friday it only makes me laugh. The predictability of people is a
wonderful thing.

-I’ve finally admitted that I just cannot chew gum. My jaw was hurting so much. I stopped chewing gum, got my bite guard fixed. All is better in my mouth.

-The restaurant across the street has a Spinach and Lentil soup that is the highlight of my winter so far. I’m sure it is a super easy soup to make, but I can’t find any recipes that have ingredients that hit on all the high flavor points of that soup, so I just buy it several times a week to feed my obsession with winter
soups. Emailing Liz right now to ask the only Greek person I know if such a soup really exists in the Greek diet.

-Dealing with sickness and death at the same time with different people is hard. The flu swept through my house at the same time as I got a cold and my grandmother died. It was a weird debilitating experience. I wanted to do something nice, so I offered to buy the alter flowers for the funeral. When the recommended florist couldn’t be reach, I couldn’t figure out what to do. After a day of pondering alternatives, I came up with the totally unexpected idea of calling another florist and explaining what I needed. It worked. I’m claiming that sickness clouded my ability to think clearly.

Spa Day, Identity Crisis, and Happy New Year!

2010-12-30T18:11:00.000-08:00

Julia deserves the Sister of the Year award. Today and for the past three days she has conducted a spa for her sisters. The spa mostly included a foot soak in a tub of warm Hello Kitty lotion scented water and a "massage" while sunning on towels in the back yard. Today though it was extended to include a mask made with yogurt, honey, and lemon juice. This is notable, because over the holidays I was beside myself with the overwhelming sisterly strife.

I have a five day weekend resulting from the two days off of work combined with one day of holiday and a weekend. The other adult that lives in this house pointed out to me that I can't just relax. It's true. I can't. I'm not sure when this happened exactly, but it feels impossible to just sit and relax. Any moment that I have to myself such as this one I feel that I am stealing from some more important venture that should be undertaken. Tomorrow we will have 17 people in our house and right now I could be putting the leaves in the table or making the potato salad or making sure there are clean hand towels in the bathrooms or something... But the kids are watching Looney Tunes and I'm at the end of a bottle of wine so here I am. I am also now unable to sleep past 7am. This is what it feels like to be past thirty with kids I suppose.

So tomorrow brings two parties. The first is all family at my house. Baton Rouge is the half way point between Ville Platte and Houma. So my little sister and her little brother get to visit while we eat pizza, gumbo, potato salad and lots of junk. In the evening I begin my new year resolution a day early. My resolution is to make a social life for myself. If it were not for my kids' school, I would feel absolutely no connection to Baton Rouge. I need another reason to stay here. I need social connections, so tomorrow we attend a party that I've been invited to for the past three years, but never taken the trouble to attend. I've spent my NY Eve watching Garrison Keiller for Christ sake when I could have gone to a party with a bunch of cool adults. So tomorrow I make the effort, to start the New Year.
So happy New Year a day or two early and who wants to move to Houston? Anyone?? Houston may be in Texas and it may be big and it may be full of a bunch of republicans who by my observation drive really, really nice cars, but it has a Lesbian mayor. That counts for something right?

Tonight

2010-12-22T19:04:00.000-08:00

Tonight was a good night and I want to remember that.

Tonight Julia had horseback riding lessons where she jumped the horse over the triangle for the first time. I have this idea that horseback riding lessons are going to teach her to take control of situations, to learn responsibility, to communicate with people and with her horse, and to be confident. I'm not sure if it will accomplish all of those things, but it is pretty amazing to see her jump after only a couple of months of lessons.

Tonight Charlotte misheard the Beatles I Want to Hold Your Hand as I Want to Pull Your Hair.

Tonight the kids are watching Looney Tunes and laughing and laughing and laughing.

Best of all tomorrow the kids are going to Houma and Mike and I have a free night.

One Year Old Preacher

2010-12-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

I laughed, I cried.

Enjoy.

Half Marathon Failure

2010-12-21T17:22:00.000-08:00

I had been training for another half marathon. Once you get into the longer runs during training, it can get really difficult to schedule time to complete them. Long runs usually last between and two and two and half hours. Last time around I accomplished this by going very early on Sunday morning. That way I’d still be back around breakfast time with the kids and have plenty of time to recover before work the next day. This half marathon training I was a bit more lax in my training methods and dedication. I found myself getting close to the half marathon and not really willing to wake up early or run at night or pretty much anytime that wasn’t totally convenient for me unless I began to feel desperately worried about not completing it, then I would run at the most inconvenient times for everyone.

Here I was a few weeks away from the race day and needing to complete 10 miles (2 hours) and pick up the kids early from school for doctor’s appointments. Why not leave work a couple of hours earlier than necessary so I can run on the levy for my 10 miles? I set out around 11 on a Tuesday. Immediately I was a little uncomfortable because there is a high homeless presence on the levy, but there were also school groups and desperate casino patrons milling about, so I pressed on. About two miles in I realized that I was the only person out and I would soon by running by the dead presidents streets. About two and a half miles in I saw a lone hooded male walking along the trees on the levy, but what was I going to do, turn around? He was still there either way and I might offend him if I suddenly stopped and turned around. So on I went. I passed two more lone men wearing big hooded coats* in 65 degree weather. Finally I reached the end of the paved lane at LSU where there was a young college guy just setting out, so I stuck with him back to downtown and then finished my last five miles on the treadmill at the Y.

By the end I was exhausted and thrilled to be finished. If you can imagine for a minute what your body would feel like after running 10 miles, it will make sense why this next oversight on my part was so absolutely ridiculous. So running 10 miles is not something a body wants to do, especially in the state that most moderately well off Americans are. Walking after running 10 miles feels like walking through waist high water. Standing up from sitting feels like you are holding an extra hundred pounds on your shoulders. Your skin feels like it is vibrating and your brain is buzzing from the mental and physical effort you’ve just expended. At this point I’m running pretty close to the time I need to get the kids checked out from school before I have to wait for carpool. So off I go to the locker room to grab my towel and shower shoes. I open my locker and think my bag feels awfully light. Hmmm… no towel. NO TOWEL?! Seriously? No towel. I contemplate my options. Dry off with my sweaty clothes or use the paper towels by the sink. I choose paper towels though they have the absorbency of a sheet of paper. I had to bring my nice work clothes into the shower with me to get dressed, since I had no towel to walk to my locker with. Whatever. I did it. Ten miles complete and three more to go to run the half marathon.

The obstacles never got any easier and really who trains for a half marathon during the holidays anyway? I never completed my run. In fact I never got beyond 10 miles. I’d like to say that now I’m all super pumped to continue my training and run in February, but I’m still undecided. Running takes a mental fortitude that I’m not sure I can muster up again. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

*Jay Z told Terry Gross that they wear those big puffy coats to conceal drugs and weapons. I no longer trust anyone wearing baggy clothes.

Spirit of the Season

2010-11-30T15:40:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the spirit of the season here are the top five things that I am not thankful for in no particular order:
1. Scotch
2. Cubicle neighbor who clips her fingernails.
3. Crud in the impossible to clean coffee pot.
4. ADHD
5. Baton Rouge traffic

It Gets Better

2010-10-03T15:19:00.001-07:00

I love you Dan Savage. I think this message goes beyond just speaking to homosexual kids getting bullied in high school. My life changed completely when I started college.

Don't depend on me in an emergency

2010-09-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

I go to the mall two or three times a year. The kids go to the mall once every other year. I hate the mall.
We have this reward system for the twins for good behavior. They collect "dollars" for each good day and on the weekends I bring them to spend their money. This weekend all three kids decided they really wanted clip on earrings. Off to Claire's we went. We got there a little before it opened. Ella picked out rainbow heart dangling earrings. Julia chose silver flowers. Charlotte found pink butterflies. We walked out of the store and immediately put on every one's earrings. Julia's didn't fit well, so back to the store we went. She picked out some new earring pretty quickly, but there was a kid getting her ears pierced, so we waited for about 10 minutes to exchange the earrings.
The kids were getting hungry so we stopped at the pretzel store for salty pretzels and sat outside of Sears. Every time Charlotte took a bite of her pretzel her hair would swing forward and rub against her pretzel. Before she had taken her third bite her hair was glistening with butter. We were on the second floor so we people watched. Ella noticed the security guard with his Mountie style hat. We watched the elevator deliver people up and down. I saw some teenagers on the first floor running from the left out to the exit. They looked like they were scared, but then they started laughing, so I just kept watching. A second later there were more people running. Then on the second floor, where we were, people came running in our direction. I started getting the kids up, since I was somewhat concerned, but still not sure if it was just some kids fooling around or if there was really something happening. I heard someone say there was someone shooting. I told the kids to get up, just get up now. I grabbed the twins arms and we started out. This poor old man with a walker relaxing in a comfy chair behind us asked me what was going on. I barely slowed down to say that I wasn't sure, someone said there was a shooting, but I wasn't staying to find out. Since we were closest to the Sears exit, we ran through Sears and out the door. There was a lady in Sears, holding her toddler with clothes in her hand. She saw this crowd of people running toward the doors and threw the clothes on the ground and left with us. Then we were in the parking lot on the opposite side of the mall from where we parked. We just kept walking. Some punk dudes were backing out in their car. They rolled down the window and asked us if we were getting to our car. I said yes and they took off.
There was no way I was walking through the parking lot to get back to the car, when I had no idea what was happening in the mall. So we walked to the road and I called Mike. I couldn't see how we were going to get back to our car and by that time I could hear the many sirens heading our way. I asked him to come get us and told him what happened. That's when I started crying. If I hadn't talked to him I would have been fine. I told him we were going to wait at Logan's Steakhouse.
We sat in the grass for a few minutes and the kids started asking questions. Julia started crying. By that time I was fine. Mike wisely told me not to cry because the kids would start freaking out. So I calmed her down and we went in the restaurant for drinks.
It was so weird because there was a mix of people there. Some like us were just there trying to figure out what to do. Is it safe to go back to the car? Do we call someone to pick us up? Was there really anything happening at all or was it some joke? Then there were the people having their post church steak and potatoes completely oblivious to the rest of us. Soon enough Mike came. We drove to the van and the kids and I left to go the grocery store. Since life around the mall seemed pretty normal, I figured it was best to continue on with our day as though it was no big deal. I answered lots of questions about why people shoot other people. Why people rob.
We all talked about what happened and what they thought was happening when I yanked them up and started running through the mall. Julia thought I saw a caterpillar, which is pretty funny, because that is pretty much how I react when I see a stinging insect.
When we got back from the grocery we found out it was just a robbery. No guns only mace involved. Masked guys robbed a gold kiosk. The sound of the breaking glass apparently made a popping sound that people interpreted as gunshots.
So I don't think the kids are traumatized by it. I'm sure we'll be talking about it for a while, but I think it will be OK. The kids have been going through this phase where they are obsessed with robbers. On the weekends they create these elaborate robber catching traps around the house. So it's kind of ironic that it was a robbery that happened at the mall.
The kids all agreed that they are never going to the mall in Baton Rouge again. We'll see how long that lasts.

33

2010-09-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'll be 33. Over the past year I've noticed laugh lines around my mouth and little crinkles around my eyes. I don't get carded anymore. I'm fine with that, but you know what would be nice? If I could trade the zits for the lines. I'll take the wrinkles. It's ok. I knew they were coming, but could the zits go? I think this breaks some unwritten rule of the universe... With the coming of wrinkles goes the coming of pimples. So for my 33rd birthday my body gave to me one huge angry red pimple right below my lip. The kind that will leave a nice big red mark for weeks to come. Awesome.

So Proud

2010-09-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

I knew my kids wouldn't be able to keep their mouths from moving while the teacher talked. I knew they would fight with each other when I found out they were in the same class. I knew it would be a rough start and there would be an adjustment, perhaps a huge adjustment. I've been strict with them when reinforcing class rules and discussing the things that get them in trouble. I created a reward system at home to correspond with their performance at school. I've resisted the notion that they are bored and that's why they are acting up. I've done all I know how at the moment to make them sit quietly, keep their hands to themselves, to use walking feet, and to use inside voices. I knew all this and I've done all this, but secretly I'm a little bit thrilled that my kids are so incredibly different than me. Where they got their boldness, their ability to talk about anything, their weird imaginations I don't know, but I'm glad. These kids will not be the wallflower, the late bloomer, the quietest and I'm relieved.

Also singing along with Don't Stop Believin' as sung by the Glee Cast, will make everything better. At least it will as long as it ain't that bad to begin with, and it ain't.

Guilt and Parenting

2010-07-30T18:28:00.001-07:00

Whenever I consider writing something here, the subject I’m
considering always feels overwrought and then I feel silly. Then the
guilt hits, then I decide not to write at all. Example – Why don’t I
enjoy my kids? I feel like everyday is an exercise in just getting
from one minute to the next without losing my mind. I should write
about the time I had to turn around and bring Charlotte home rather
than bring her to the park, because she was acting like such a horrid
jerk. Then explore what went wrong and how I could do it better next
time. Or I should write about how right I was and how I don’t regret
at all making her feel like a bad person by making her stay home while
her sisters got to play at the park. But, at some point while
thinking all this through, I start to think… What a self important
jerk you are! Here you are in your nice house, with your healthy kids
and your good job and yet you complain! Well just wait until you lose
your job and you have to sell your big house and you are stuck in a
two bedroom 600 sqft apartment. Then you’ll see what all this self
examination and complaining gets you!
And as I was writing about this guilt thing that I put myself through,
I was actually doing it without realizing it. Oh MY God! I just did
it again. By explaining how you are self examining and berating, you
are still indulging in a poor me complaining post about how you can’t
write anything. Damn Catholic upbringing! Look what you have done to
me!

Lush

2010-07-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

I know I'm not the best mom in the universe, but I'm pretty proud of the fact that I got my daughter through 10 years of life without realizing that "shopping" meant more than going to the grocery store or frantically searching the clearance racks at Target for anything in her size. My mom ruined it by bringing her to the mall during a particularly soggy camping trip. So for her 10th birthday she asked for a mall shopping trip. It was great. We went into Justice (preteen store) and looked at all of the tie die and skull T shirts. That's when I realized that Julia, in her flower and button shirt and scooter was dressed more like her 5 year old sisters than the other kids in the store. So we bought a bunch of tie died, peace signed, trendy preteen crap and we both felt better.
On the way out of the mall we stopped at Lush. If you've never heard of it, Lush is a handmade, greeny bath and body store. I stood incredulous as the store clerk showed me how the $2.00 shower aromatherapy thingee worked by dissolving an entire $2.00 shower aromatherapy thingee for our benefit. When I realized that the soaps and such were price by the 1/4 lb at prices from $7 and up per 1/4 lb and their newest signature item was a shower gel that smelled like grass, I was ready to get out of there. As I was preparing to walk out of the store with Julia I eyed this pretty blue soap that smelled so minty and fresh that I caved and picked it up. Because this was Julia's shopping trip, I let her pick out a robot shaped kid bath dissolve thing that cost $2.00 and could be used only once (WTH?). There are little paper yellow bags around the store for you to put your stuff in. The little yellow bags have cute little notes about how earth friendly and handmade and natural all the products are. It also invites you to bring the PAPER bag back to the store to refill. I'm all for conserving. We compost and grow veges and recycle and all that, and I was pulled in by the idea of handmade bath products that somehow get sold in a chain store in Louisiana. BUT as the clerk rang up my purchases, she put my little paper bag into a larger plastic bag, then proceeded to give me a sample of the new grass shower gel in a tiny hard plastic jar. So much for saving the earth.
Sorry, this is all I got. I'm annoyed by this story every single time I use my new ice blue smell goody soap. It's a sad, sad, isolated life I live.

Another Art Project

2010-07-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

The birds are the family. Mommy, Daddy, Big sis, little sisters. I haven't done anything like this in a while. This one is from back in May.

Art Project

2010-05-31T13:21:00.001-07:00

A joke From Charlotte

2010-05-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

Once on Christmas I was in school. And today we had a bomb. It told me that I should wake up. I said I already am, but I'm not. I'm sleeping with a heart. I couldn't wake up.

I have no idea what this means and I don't think she does either. I asked her what a bomb was and she said "You know, like a fire bomb."

All Natural

2010-05-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

Our backyard garden is exploding with fresh vegetables. Yesterday we had the first cucumber and it was excellent. Soon we will have so many tomatoes we will be giving them away. We've eaten well on fresh spinach and romaine lettuce recently and can't wait for the peppers and leeks and okra to be ready to pick.
Our compost bin is so full of grubs making rich dark dirt for our garden, that every time you scoop a little dirt out of the way you are treated to a squiggly mess of fat worms. I like to see them in there working away at all our food waste.
The grapes are growing and growing. They look like real grapes and real grape vines and soon we will have real wine made from real grapes grown in our very own backyard.
Recently I started using handkerchiefs instead of kleenex and I cannot recommend it more highly. I absolutely love blowing my nose in cloth as opposed to kleenex. It seems strange, but it more gentle, more absorbent, and with each blow you get to sniff fabric softener. What more can I ask for in a device meant to collect nasal secretions?
All of the save the earth stuff is great, HOWEVER the one going "natural" experiment I DO NOT recommend is Tom's Deodorant. I don't think I am any more sweaty or smelly than the average woman who works indoors all day, but I smelled like BO by the end of the first day of wearing it. I even tried applying the night before and then that morning, but no luck. Still stinky. Bring on the aluminum and early dementia. I prefer not to knock people out with my body odor.

Revenge, Sort Of

2010-05-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

At Christmas time the twins came home with one of those cute little recipe books. Each kid recited a recipe for their favorite type of cookie to the teacher who wrote down all of the "ingredients" and the directions. There were all of the typical adorable instructions like "Get the cookie dough from the store. You have to ask my mom which one." Ella and Charlotte each had adorable recipes. They have actually baked cookies with me on several occasions, so their recipes at least had actual ingredients, just not the right proportions. They were convinced that these recipes that they created were going to make amazing cookies. So around Christmas we "made" Charlotte's cookies. I had the recipe for sugar cookies memorized and they can't read, so that one was easy. Ella chose Gingerbread cookies, which I personally can't stand, so I kept putting that one off. Ella recently unearthed the recipe book and it just so happens that this is teacher appreciation week. Perfect. So we made Ella's "recipe" for gingerbread cookies to bring to the teachers. Muwahahaha. Enjoy the 10 cups of brown sugar to 1 tsp of flour ratio in those cookies teachers!

New lows, new favorites, new goals

2010-04-29T15:15:00.001-07:00

I hit a new parenting low last weekend when I screamed, "I AM NOT YOUR SERVANT!!!!" to Charlotte. They were being little shits complaining about the breakfast that I cooked for them. That was just the pinnacle of a weekend of discontent for everyone. I never thought I'd be the yelling mom and I don't feel like myself when I yell, so I'm trying to institute a no yelling policy. Sometimes it feels like the only way to be heard over three very loud voices that alternate wildly between total joy and total discontent.
I think part of it is that I haven't been running much lately. Yesterday Lance Armstrong's voice congratulated me on running 250 miles total. It followed up a really nice super early morning run and made me feel like I'm ready to set a new running goal. I want to train again for another half marathon and then immediately move into training for a full marathon. I can run. I'm good at running and it makes me feel sane. I need to keep running. I need to keep reminding myself of this. Oh, if Valerie Bertenelli at 50 can run a marathon, then so can I.
I've been loving MGMT lately. I wish I had discovered them a long time ago. I've been loving running to Black Eyed Peas, Glee, and K'Naan. I really loving this thing called a babysitter. When thinking toward the weekend it's wonderful to know that I can pick up the phone and call someone who will drive to my house one night and take care of my kids while I do something fun with the other adult I live with that I'm not allowed to talk about here. I know it's stupid, but I've never had a babysitter that wasn't a family member and didn't involve a two hour drive. And again it helps to keep me sane.

Something

2010-03-10T14:09:00.001-08:00

Like I said in my last post, blogs and I have a long history. In my ten years of religiously reading blogs or online journals or whatever you want to call them, I've never read anything quite so heartbreaking as this blog written by a new doctor named Danielle. I've been following her through medical school and now in her life as a young doctor. The writing is just simply beautiful. It's not all heartbreaking. It's sometimes life affirming, sometime funny, sometimes hopeful and always though provoking.

So I completed a goal

2010-03-02T17:40:00.000-08:00

I think up lots of crazy plans and get really excited about them and then some time passes and I lose interest or just give up. I set goals for myself and I don't tell people about them so that it doesn't matter if I fail. Last year I decided to try the Couch to 5K program. I tried it out for about three weeks and quit.
SO... I set a goal for myself and I finished it. I started training for a half marathon in October and on February 28th I did it.
So many bloggers have written a recap of the day and it was a big deal for me, so I'll do the same.

Brian was feeling really generous and gave me his bedroom in the Quarter. He washed the sheets and everything. I got to sleep with Oscar, who kept freaking me out by sleeping under the covers. How did he breath under there?

I was kind of worried that I wouldn't be able to get back to the Convention Center and to my corral without getting lost. When I stepped out of Brian's apartment, there was a flood of people walking down Royal toward the race. It was awesome and exciting.

I got to the race site and followed the signs to my area. I paused for a second by a small group of ladies doing the same. It was cold and my nose was running and I was nervous. I was bent over fumbling with my earbuds and trying to figure out if I needed to use the porta potties, when I heard one of the ladies next to me call another Linda. I snuck a glance up and sure enough... (Backstory - I decided to do this because a blogger I love who lives in Seattle set this race as a goal for herself as well as a number of other blogger. Two others I read regularly were also doing it. I thought it would be cool to train for it as they did it. I've been reading blogs for 10 years now. These particular blogs I've been reading somewhere between 5 and 7 years. It a strange experience when you follow blogs for a long time. I've raised twins while Linda raised her oldest son and then had another. I read spellbound and heartbroken as Eliza went through a terrible breakup. I was inspired by the goals Erin set and then met for herself. I read when her fiance proposed, when she described her wedding and then divorced. These blogs have been a part of my life for the past 10 years. I don't exactly see these people as friends, but their experiences have been interwoven with my own.) OK. So then I hear the name Linda and of the 14,000 people who showed up to run the race, I happened to be standing next to the person that inspired me to do it. I then quickly realized that Erin was also standing there and so I...
I kept my head down, quickly untangled my earbuds, strapped my ipod to my arm and walked away.
I set a goal for myself and I met it.
My next goal needs to be overcoming my social anxiety.
Otherwise the race was terrific. I saw Sara, Brian, and Miguel. It was so incredibly great to see all of those people out there. Mike met me with the kids at the end. I got to me Eliza/Elizabeth thanks to Brian. I of course will count this as another social failure, but whatever. It was a great day. A great day.

Further Proof that I am Raising Pretentious Children

2010-02-22T16:09:00.000-08:00

I usually avoid going to the grocery store with the kids if I can help it. With the vacation, our usual schedule was off, so we went after school today. The kids worked their whiny magic and got all kinds of stuff they wanted. When I left Whole Foods, my basket wasn't full of sweets and salty snacks, but Crostini Italian Crackers and specialty cheeses. Please excuse the brief post, but I need to open the white wine for dinner and I think the Thai Red Curry with tofu and basmati rice is just about ready.

Running Obsessed

2010-01-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

I’m getting a little obsessive about this running thing. I’ve been pretty sedentary my entire life. I’ve shied away from sports because I’ve always sucked at all of them I’ve tried. Junior High and High School P.E. were traumatic. The tough girls picked on me and the lone lesbian took up for me. It sucked, as did my softball team where I spent most of my time in the dugout while the others played. I tried dance, but I think no further explanation of that experience is required. But anyone with good knees can run in a straight line. I have good knees. I can run in a straight line. I could not, however, run more than a quarter of a mile without feeling like my lungs were about to burst through my chest. Within a month I was running two miles, but still feeling like my lungs were being tased toward the end. Within two months I was running six miles and feeling fantastic all the way through the run. Now I’m up to eight miles and I’m looking forward to this Sunday when I try for nine. By the end of February I will be running 13 miles. I think that is absolutely fucking amazing. I really never thought my body was capable of such a thing as running for eight miles straight. I’ve really never tried to push myself either. I can’t exactly describe the whole running thing except to say that it feels really, really good. It’s not just about being alone for that 40+ minutes three times a week. My body feels great. I feel like a machine when I run. It’s like everything is on automatic for that little bit of time and I’m listening to music that I like and I’m experiencing something that I’m not sure what it is. I’m being romantic, because I don’t know why I love you Running, but I do. I want everyone to go out and run and then run with me, because I want everyone to feel great for 40 minutes three times a week.
I started this to write about what happened when I ran last week. It was 20 degrees. It was 7am. I was stupid. It can be 30 degrees and you would be nuts to go running with anything more than a long sleeve t-shirt and yoga pants because you get very hot very quickly and then you regret any extra layers. So, why should 20 degrees be any different? It’s below freezing, so it’s different. So I leave and it’s fine at first. Actually the first 15 minutes are fine. It’s not until I’m about 2 miles away from home that I realized that the skin on thighs feels like I’m immersed in a tub of ice water. But no matter, I ran my five miles and was just about home when I saw a little patch of ice. I went into the grass to avoid it and the second I stepped back on the cement I was down. Icy grass, wet shoes, cement = busted knee, bruised thigh, sore arm. But it was early and it was literally freezing outside so nobody saw it and that’s all that counts. I got home and my husband looked at me like was crazy because apparently the sweat on my face, neck, and in my hair had frozen so that I was glistening and shimmering all over just like those vampires in Twilight.

Ummmm, yeah...

2009-12-04T15:13:00.000-08:00

Two years ago at an after Christmas sale I bought three Santa hats. I had a vague idea of putting them on kid heads the next year for holiday pictures. They were a hit with the kids and since we unearthed them from the Christmas stash, we've all taken turned wearing them casually around the house. It's been really cold this week and this house is a total piece of crap as far as keeping out the elements. It's impossible to keep the house at a comfortable level without running the heater continuously. So we don Santa hats and wear slippers and look like a very jolly, cold family.

Cruel, Cruel World

2009-11-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

Veteran's Day is a magical day where we thank all our veterans for their service to our country and where all the kids go to school and most of the adults go to work, except the state workers. It's the magical day where the state workers get a day off from kid duty and their spouses have to work. It's the day that I had planned to spend in the French Quarter eating and drinking and indulging in a "literary" tour of sorts and whatever else the day would bring. It was a day free of obligation. A day I was looking forward to since this day last year.
So of course last night at dinner we are doing the usual dinner time routine. Trying to get the kids to eat something. Saying the usual things like, "Sit down and eat." "Stop getting out of your chair and just eat." "Stop hitting your sister, no I don't want to hear another knock knock joke, please just sit back down and eat, you only have three bites left for all that is good, almighty God, just sit down and eat, have we really been sitting for 40 minutes and you have only eaten half a sandwich, stop complaining about the food and just eat..." when Charlotte pushed back her chair, which caught on the grout in the ceramic tile and fell backwards mangling her tongue and chipping two teeth. So today I'll spend the day at the dentist spending who know how much money to fix two chipped teeth.
Otherwise, I'm doing better with the whole running thing. I can run two miles without stopping and I don't feel like I'm dying anymore when I reach that two miles and I'm doing it in under 20 minutes, which rocks.

Runner

2009-10-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

I jogged 2 miles in 18 minutes. Not a good time I know but still I did it. It's been months since I've done any jogging/running. I think I can work up to a 5K in a couple of weeks.

My lesson learned from my pumpkin disaster is to involve the kids in projects like that, so when it turns out poorly, you can just say, "Oh, the kids 'helped' me!"

Halloween Fail

2009-10-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

The Concept:

The Reality:

Orlando Sucks

2009-10-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

Orlando sucks unless you are there for the sole purpose of visiting the theme parks. If you weren't sure whether or not you wanted kids and you took a business trip to Orlando, you would become one of those annoying people who is totally anti-kid. So if you get to go somewhere on the company dime and you are looking forward to this trip because you will have six glorious days and five wondrous nights without your kids, don't go to the conference being held in Orlando. Otherwise I totally rocked the session that I conducted. We had a room of over 100 people and I had every person in the room laughing at a self deprecating comment I made at one point and it wasn't polite laughter. For the next two days, we actually got stopped walking around the conference and while eating lunch by people who wanted to thank us for all the great info they got in our session. We were awesome and I think I deserve a big fat raise.

On another note Ella just told me that when she grows up she wants a limbousine. Dream big kid. I like to do the limbo and ride in long cars also.

On another note again, Julia told me that a boy in her class told her that he likes her. My kid is getting big.

On another note yet again, I know I have identical twins, but I think it's a little weird that they poop at the same time. Seriously, within an hour of hearing the first "Mom, I need you to wipe my butt," I am sure to hear it again from the other one. Bizarre.

And I'm Off

2009-10-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

Last week someone asked me if we were surprised when we found out we were having twins. The answer is of course yes, but the emotion I felt most was relief. I've told this story before, but I started thinking about it again after that conversation. We went in for the first ultrasound of the pregnancy. It was done at 16 weeks and we were going to find out if we were having a boy or girl. I think we both were secretly hoping it would be a boy so we would have a boy and a girl and then we could consider ourselves done if we wanted, without feeling pressure later to have another. Everything about the pregnancy had been totally fine. We heard a heartbeat early on and there was absolutely no indication that anything was wrong or abnormal. We went into the ultrasound excited to find out the sex and see the baby. We even brought Julia so she could experience it with us. The technician squirted my belly with goo and started probing and swiping around with the wand. We were all looking at the monitor waiting for her to start pointing out body parts and making measurements and reassure us that everything looked great and the baby was just the right size and by the way it's a... But she didn't say any of that. She stayed very quiet and kind of frantically swiped this way and that, pausing for a few seconds, then going back the other way and pausing for a few seconds. I was just starting to feel concerned when she asked, "Is this your first ultrasound?" I started to feel seriously panicky. I thought the baby had died or was malformed or any other of a number of possibilities and here we were so confident that we had brought our four year old daughter in with us. Then she said, "Well I see two heads." OK, seriously? Siamese twins, what's happening? Then finally she said,"It looks like there are two babies. You are having twins." Big sigh of relief. Anything seemed fine after that. "Twins. Whatever!" We then found out they were both girls and there was no indication whether they were identical or fraternal. We were sent off with some film of the ultrasound to my OBGYN. When we stepped into the office, everyone was looking at us wide eyed waiting to see our reaction. I was still a bit freaked out about the whole experience and Mike and I had only had an elevator ride with our four year old between the big news and the Dr. appt. It was surreal, but we gradually got used to the idea and could not wait to starting freaking out our family and friends with the news.
So were we surprised? Yes, but any shock value from the news was completely overshadowed by the enormous sense of relief at find out the babies were in fact healthy and not joined in any way. Way to freak out the pregnant lady, Ms. Ultrasound technician.
And now I'm leaving for the airport for a week long trip, Alone. Pray for the members of my family who are staying behind.

Pandora

2009-09-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

I got an ipod touch for my birthday. It's beautiful. One of my favorite features is the Pandora app. Tonight as I put the kids to bed, we all listened to Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. Perhaps 1940's and 50's jazz isn't the most soothing music and perhaps Lavay Smith is the reason the kids are still awake at 9:30 on a school night, but I still think it was a good choice.

Lightning Storm

2009-08-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

Baton Rouge Riverfront

2009-08-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

We went to a birthday party at one of the downtown museums. Afterward I took the girls to the river.

We explored the fountains.

We went to the river and walked through the weeds to the water's edge.

Then all three of us stepped in the mud at the same time. It was deceptively solid in appearance, but quicksandish in consistency. I talked the girls down from a possible meltdown the likes of which the peaceful riverside had never before seen. We washed our feet and shoes in the fountain we just admired leaving behind gritty brown swirls in the water.

Blue

2009-08-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

Every so often this thing happens. A switch is flipped and suddenly life is hopeless. I listen to Morning Edition on the way to work and every story makes my face puffy and my eyes water with the sadness and hopelessness of it all. I get to work and my gray cubicle walls begin to resemble a jail cell. The sound of my coworker chewing ice is the
most disgusting and screechingly annoying thing I’ve ever heard. My lunch looks completely unappetizing and I wish I had a lunch date that day instead of ANOTHER sandwich. Suddenly I want nothing more than to escape the monotony of this life and do something exciting, like move to New York and embrace the city life, or move to the country and embrace the rural life, or maybe buy a new skirt, or get my hair cut, or make bacon and pancakes for dinner. Then the kids have never been so annoying in the car and all the idiots driving on the interstate should just open their eyes and
pay attention for once. I think maybe if I stop and get some greasy chips from Zippy’s, the drive home in the car with the kids will be bearable. The sounds of open mouth crunching is way better than someone picking a fight because someone else was so careless as to let her elbow pass the imaginary line drawn between the car seats. When I get home I bake cookies and once the kids are in bed I'm crabby and antisocial until my husband asks what is wrong with me. That's when it dawns on me that the pill packet is empty and I'm helpless to the effects of my biology. Hormones gone wild! About two days later the fog clears and all is right with the universe again, until approximately 28 day have passed and then the cycle repeats itself.

Today

2009-08-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

Today I swallowed a brand new piece of peppermit Orbit gum while in the middle of a conversation with a collegue. It was hard to pretend as if nothing had happened while a very minty wad slowly made it way to my stomach.
A little while later I ate fresh cracklin from Roanoke Louisiana. Hmmmm...
Monday was the first day of preschool for the kids at the new F-A-N-C-Y fancy school. Today, their fourth day, I dropped a precious piece of artwork that was FULL of wet glitter glue as we made our way out the door. Charlotte saw what I had done and responded with "Shit Mommy!" Nice!
When we got home I decided we should go for a bike ride so the little ones can practice their bike riding skills. Julia was not in favor of this idea and only tagged along grudgingly. She had been in the backyard digging around with a gardening fork thingee, which she "forgot" to put down before we set out. Soon Charlotte took over pedaling way faster than Ella and Julia was about to run off to catch up with her when she realized she was carrying a gardening fork. So now I get to hold it and "encourage" Ella to pump those legs to catch up. Now Julia is distracted by someone draining their pool down their driveway and into the street, Charlotte is too far ahead of us to hear me, and Ella is tortoising her way down the sidewalk. Now Charlotte is about to get to the end of the sidewalk to a very busy intersection of our neighborhood. I can't protect all three kids at once and Charlotte seems to be in the most immediate danger, so off I run yelling "STOP! Charlotte STOP!" waving gardening implements in the air and surely appearing to be the picture of parenting perfection. Charlotte never did hear me, but she's a smart girl and turned the corner without a thought. Eventually we all caught up with each other and Julia turned to me and said, "I knew this was a mistake."

Sky Divers

2009-08-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

Tourist in New York

2009-07-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to look like a tourist wearing jeans and tennis shoes in New York. I packed skirts and cute shirts. The kind of stuff I wear to work. I packed my most comfortable work shoes and didn't even put a pair of tennis shoes in my suit case. That was stupid. No matter what I was going to look like a tourist in New York, with my big camera across my shoulder announcing "Tourist!" I stopped to look at all the tall buildings, marveled over the giant slices of pizza, bought stuff from the street vendors, laughed at the annoying guy selling "Obama Condoms, The ultimate stimulus package," road the subway wide eyed, and browsed stores selling $6000 purses only to laugh and point at the ridiculousness of it. I was a tourist in New York.
The first day we decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Model as Muse exhibit. We strolled leisurely through Central Park, which is huge on a scale that you don't realize until you feel like you've been walking for hours, have seen at least 5 playgrounds, 4 bridges, and three bodies of water, only to look at the map and realize that you are only 1/4 of the way into the park. So sometime around that 2nd bridge and 3rd park I started to realize that those shoes that were so comfy for work, were nothing short of moronic for a miles long walk. I barely made it to the museum and all through the exhibits I was far more interested in checking out the kinds of shoes people were wearing than what was hanging on the walls. I saw more flip flops than you see at the beach, I saw all kinds of trendy hipster tennis shoes, I saw high heels and Nike's. I saw comfort in every one's feet. I didn't see anyone else hobbling around, shuffling along the hallways and through the rooms, experimenting with ways to move along with the minimal amount of foot rubbing against shoe as possible. I was truly more enamored with the shoes people were wearing than the Rodin statues and Michael Angelo's first painting. I wondered if I would get in trouble for taking flash photography of feet. When they herded us all out at 5:00, we walked out and hailed a cab because I would have cried had I needed to take one more step. As soon as we got back I took off those shoes, covered my feet in band aids, and put on my comfy sandals that safely delivered me blister free through all of Bonnaroo and the remainder on my New York trip.

New York

2009-07-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

We saw a "disagreement" as soon as we landed in the airport, we saw a bicyclist get hit by a bus, we tried to eat at two different recommended restaurants that were no longer in business, we saw two broadway shows, we had a great time.

Uninspired

2009-07-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

Today I stumbled across a way to clean my camera's sensor, that I didn't know existed. I've been annoyed with my camera, because there is dust on the sensor and it's a problem that needs to be fixed by Canon. It is generally not something you can do at home, except that the camera apparently has a built in sensor cleaner, that I had no idea existed. I ran it this afternoon and took a couple of sky test shots and it appears to be better. So to celebrate, I took these pictures of my laundry room. Don't try to conceal your excitement now.

Vacation # 3

2009-07-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

You can tell this is vacation number three of the summer because it's almost ten on the night before we are embarking on an 8 hour drive to Dallas, Texas and I've not packed a thing yet. I've done some laundry! It's not folded, but mostly it's clean. Normally by this point in the vacation planning I've:
-written one comprehensive list for the entire family,
-made at least three trips to the store for various "necessities" (what if we run out of sun screen, the kids need more snacks for the car, we have to have at least one new movie for the car ride etc.),
-washed, dried, and folded all the laundry so it can be neatly packed and all the "good" clothes are clean.
-packed everything
-made a list of things to do before we leave - take out the trash, raise the AC, start the dishwasher
-fallen into bed sweaty and exhausted, yet wide awake worrying about getting there

By vacation number three all this has been left to the last minute. Maybe I just feel like I've done it so many times that I'm super efficient and don't need all that preparation, or maybe I'm just procrastinating. Hmmmm... could that be it? Almost 10:00, nothing done for dawn departure, what should I do... Let's blog about being unprepared!

I think I'll just enjoy one nice cold Honey Moon beer, then I'll get busy...

Art of Such n Such at Bonnaroo

2009-06-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

More weird Bonnaroo stuff. There was a "Peep Show" wall with all of these little holes. You peeped inside to see the Siamese twins, room of eyeballs or other crazy stuff. There was a bearded lady, belly dancing with fire, and well... lots of fire.

Andrew Bird Bonnaroo 2009

2009-06-18T16:57:00.001-07:00

Mmmmmm... Andrew Bird sounding and looking as beautiful as ever.

The People of Bonnaroo

2009-06-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

I was disappointed with my pictures, but here are some of the crazy people at Bonnaroo. Most importantly though - They had showers this year! Seven dollars for a cold shower, but a shower none the less.

Decisions

2009-06-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

It's late. I'm about to go to bed. I walk into the kitchen grab the packet of birth controls pills. Pop one out and toss it into my mouth. Except I didn't quite make it. I tossed it somewhere near my mouth, where it bounced off of my face, onto the floor, and rolled into the corner of despair. It's a corner under the cabinets, where all the crumbs, splashed tomato sauce, spider webs, and empty bug husks seem to collect. Because of the way it is placed, it is impossible to get a broom in there and even more impossible to get a mop in there. OK, maybe I could occasionally get down on all fours with a wet paper towel or something, but out of site out of mind. So the choices are fish out the pill and take it or fish out the pill and throw it away.
As to what my choice was, I will say this: My nightly mantra as I take my pill is "No babies, no babies, no babies, no babies." Think Press Your Luck, "No whammies, no whammies, no whammies, no whammies!" when reciting this. I don't take chances.

How does one prepare for not being able to shower for Five days? Five Days! We've done these showerless music festivals before, but this is the longest and it's June and ugh...

2009-06-06T16:03:00.000-07:00

This is the view from the cabin we stayed in at Tickfaw. The mystery bites are now known to be from chiggers/redbugs. Just in case you were wondering, chiggers only attack in their larval stage. They don't actually bite, they inject you with digestive enzymes, dig a hole in your skin and then feed. Yum!

Who knew that eating homemade beef stew was akin to torture to one certain 4 year old? If only I had known the garment rending pain she would be in from being subjected to this meal, I would have never served it, even though everyone else liked it just fine.

Camping Cabin Style

2009-06-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

As a kid my family and I went camping a lot. We went canoeing and hiking and swimming in lakes and streams. I have really good memories of those trips. I had to take a couple of days off because the twins' school was closed for "teacher preparation days." I put that in quotes because, judging from the sheer elation on the teachers' faces the day before teacher prep days began, I'd say they were more like "The kids are gone, let's party" days. Anyway, since I have precious few vacation days I decided we would rent a cabin at Tickfaw State Park as a little mini vacation. Other than the Trail of Tears I forced the kids on when walked all the way from the Nature Center to the cabin, we had a pretty good time. The cabin was great, the weather was terrific, and the snakes plentiful. I'm now the proud owner of at least a dozen mystery bites in strange and disturbing places. I crashed into another canoe only once, I got stuck on a log in the canoe only once, we suffered only one bug sting of questionable origin, and ruined only one item in the cabin, so overall a success.

Bird Island at Audubon Park

2009-05-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

Is frankly, a little freaky.

Audubon Park

2009-05-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

We went to visit my grandmother in New Orleans today. Nursing homes must seem like an alternate universe to a kid. They would not walk faster than a snails pace through the halls, like they were afraid they would miss something. They entertained everyone including my grandma. They are good kids.
Afterward we went to Audubon Park. We explored for a couple of hours. By the end the kids were exhausted and on the way back to the car, Charlotte punched Ella in the mouth. Bloody teeth, bloody lip. They are bad kids.
On the way home we listened to Animal Collective and the kids fell asleep. They like Animal Collective. They are good kids.

Murder, Perspective, and Old Cars, Oh My!

2009-05-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

We've been down to only one car for over a week now. On Tuesday we drove down Government street after school to pick up the car. As we got closer to the shop we saw police cars parked in the street, on the curbs, lights flashing, police cars racing toward us. Policemen were out of their cars milling around and directing traffic. Yellow crime scene tape surrounded a house and the next door laundromat. Far more strange than all of that was the number of people that were out on a Tuesday afternoon before 4:00. Neighborhood residents, shop owners, random pedestrians looking stunned, bored, or mildly entertained lined the sidewalks. We got through it pretty quickly, pulled up to the shop, got the car, and drove home. When I got home I checked the paper online and saw that someone had been shot and killed in the house just about fifteen minutes before we drove by.

The next day at lunch we brought the still broken car back to the shop and I had to look back over at the house and saw red stuff dripping down the front porch. Nah, I thought. No way. It's just some random red paint splotches... But no. I watched the local news later that evening and sure enough, bloody front porch. Right across the street from the bloody front porch, this man in a wheelchair sat in the middle of the street, facing the house just taking it in. He sat there with one gauze wrapped stump for a leg with absolutely no awareness that he was in the middle of the road. He was just another mentally/physically ill person wandering the streets.

How many times a day are we personally confronted with the uncomfortable reality of the way "other" people live? Often enough that it becomes part of the background of our everyday lives. Often enough that we find ways to blame them to make ourselves feel better about the disparity in circumstances.

It's a strange world. Maybe it's the Catholic guilt showing up again, but I sure do feel it now. Here we live in this palace of a house with three amazing kids and families that adore us. There is a reason why we are where we are and it's entirely our background. I don't feel like there is much that I can take credit for and yet here we are. Every now and then I stop and think that right now, right at this moment some horrible violence is happening somewhere in the world and here I sit in my palace of a house with three amazing kids and families that adore us and I remember that I and my family are but the tiniest specks out in the universe and I'm grateful for that.

Scooby Dooby Doo

2009-05-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

On the one hand - Scooby Doo is allowing me to sit quietly, drink coffee and type this. The kids actually watch Scooby Doo and it is the topic of all kinds of interesting conversation. Why does Shaggy eat dog snacks? What are vampires? Why do vampires drink blood? Are vampires real?

On the other hand - The frequency of which nightmare have made an appearance in my house has increased dramatically. Last night I put Charlotte back to bed twice and Julia once. They claim they aren't scared and judging by the extreme giggling we hear during the show, you would think they weren't scared, but their subconscious is telling me otherwise.

Look What I Did

2009-05-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

I like to sew, but I can't do it from a pattern. I find them extraordinarily difficult to understand and I end up making a mess of anything I attempt to make from a pattern. If I must use one, then I read over it and alter it to make it into something that makes sense to me. All of this is to explain why I love online tutorials so much. They explain how to measure your kid or trace an existing item of clothing to make something. I sewed the dress above from this tutorial on how to turn a men's dress shirt into a toddler dress. I couldn't even follow the tutorial completely. I added an underlay (I think I just made up that word), because the fabric was so thin. I decided to fore go the sleeves, made a tie around the waste rather than the elastic belt, and made flat seems around the neck.

When the kids saw it, they were excited and thought it was great, but neither one of them would wear it. Ella finally decided she would give it a go today. It's wrinkled and has food and pen marks on the pics above, but it made it through a whole day of daycare, which is a feat.

The Allure of the Artist

2009-05-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

Ella: Mommy, I'm trying to do an artist.
Me: Be, dear, I think you meant be.

Conversation with an Inmate

2009-05-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

We aren't supposed to talk to the inmates that empty our trash, but when you see them everyday, sometimes you end up talking to them a little too. This one dude always tells me to have a blessed day, to which I respond thank you. He came by to dust my office today and on his way out told me, "You did good. Your husband can't help but see you in every one them." He was referring to the kids. I think that was a compliment sort of, but it also struck as kind of pervy.
Anyway... There is homemade spaghetti sauce (Cayenne pepper is the secret, must add Cayenne to your sauce) on the stove, Italian sausage cooking on the stove, and meatballs in the oven. Later there will be mojitos with mint grown by the kids. They are so thoughtful, supplying mommy and daddy with fresh herbs for delicious drinks.

Seeds

2009-05-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

One Saturday morning I gave the kids a couple of packs of wild flower seeds and turned them loose on a mound of dirt in the backyard. I can't wait to see what wild concoction grows there once the seeds take off.
I love that the kids can spontaneously make up strange games to occupy their time. Today they were horses, which quickly evolved into one kid being a horse and one being pulled in the carriage (baby doll stroller). They did this for about an hour. I miss the days of single kid parenting, but there are time when triple kid parenting is pretty cool too.
Has anyone ever been able to get a boomerang to actually boomerang? I remember it never working when I was a kid.

Blah...

2009-05-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

My hopes for a new job were dashed yesterday. I know it's stupid but I'm bored in my job now and I'm so tired of dealing with personnel issues. I was hoping for something new and more intellectually challenging, but it's not going to happen. I want to sit in a quiet corner and lick my wounds for while, but I can't. This week we have a dance recital, an art show, kid doctor appointments, grandparents day, muffins for mom and I'm sure other things I'm not remembering. I'm going to try to get back into blogging more soon.

You Know You Have a Four Year Old When...

2009-04-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

You know you have a four year old when you replace their toothbrush because they've been using the same ones for 4 months, not because the bristles have been chewed so thoroughly that they are sideways, flat, and bent every which way but straight up.
Four is magic. Four marks the beginning of the reasonable age. I'm a good mom to newborns and 4 and up kids, it's the two and three year olds that are beyond me. Wonder what the teenage years will bring...

Interstate Sunset

2009-04-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

Longue Vue, New Olreans

2009-04-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

We went to the best 4 year old bday party ever today.

Strike a Match

2009-04-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

On Monday I headed out with the kids to drive to Bayou Segnette State Park. On the way out of town I stopped to fill up the van and got gasoline all over my hands from the credit card key pad thingee. The wind was blowing as I was filling up, so I naturally used my hand to tame my hair. I climbed back into the van and realized that I reeked of the smell of gas. I sprayed my hands with hand sanitizer (alcohol based). I opened the windows to air out a bit and as the wind whipped my hair I got a whiff of it and realized I had wiped the gas in my hair. So I did the logical thing and sprayed that hand sanitizer all over my hair. Crap. No big deal I figured I'll wash my hair tonight. Except, I didn't plan this trip well enough to bring shampoo or soap with me. I also didn't bring shower shoes with me, but I did bring face soap! So here I sit two days later still reeking of alcohol and gasoline, with well exfoliated skin and feet possibly about to break out with warts or athlete's foot. It's a good thing I didn't get to close to the campfire last night. I spent the entire time out in the sun though, so I guess we'll find out in a couple of days if the combo of gasoline and alcohol will give me some nice highlights. I think it's time to take a shower.

Old Blog Entry

2009-04-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

I was so sappy and so happy to be a mom in my old blog. I wrote this entry back in 2002 about my grandma who died last year. In the 8 years since I wrote this entry, I had completely forgotten about this incident.

2002
I had a long weekend. I spent most of it either studying or driving to and from Houma. After studying for several hours with a classmate I walked into my parents' house, mind and emotions numb, to pick up my daughter. I walked in and saw my grandma sitting on the sofa. This was no surprise since I knew she has been staying with my parents for the past week. I hadn’t even closed the door yet when she asked me, “Who are you?” I explained, “I am your granddaughter.” “My granddaughter huh? Well, who is your daddy?” “Barrie, your son, is my dad.” “Oh, really? Barrie? I’ll be darned. I just can’t remember.”

I wasn’t really that bothered by the fact that my grandma couldn’t remember me. I know that it’s not her fault. It does make me sad. Not because she doesn’t remember all the days we spent sitting on the carport swing snapping snap beans fresh picked from the garden. Not because she can’t recall all of the nights I spent at her house. Or the many great meals she made for me. Or the time I helped her make a carrot cake for my dad’s birthday. Or times I sat outside with my grandma and grandpa watching as the smoke swirled in the most beautiful patterns, wispy, from the end of his cigarette. Or the many times I requested her pancakes for breakfast. She made the best pancakes. She could make them so big, and thin without tearing them when she flipped them. We used to slather them with butter and syrup and then roll them into a cigarette. We ate them while the excess syrup dripped all creamy white with butter out of the end of the pancake cigarette. Her backyard held wonders for us kids. It was so big, full of trees and a vegetable garden. She sang and whistled beautifully. I loved her house, we used to sleep, my sister and I, either in the spare room or on the sofa bed. The sofa bed was the best because we could lift up the back of the bed and slip under it into this small area where the bed lay when it was curled up inside the sofa. There we would bring our crayons and draw little pictures and write our names on the exposed wood. She still has that sofa. I bet our art work is still there. When my little brother was born we stayed at my grandma’s house for a few days, our never ending chorus of “Rice-a-Roni the San Francisco Treat” never seemed to bother my grandparents. I loved the green shag carpet. It felt good to lay on it and twist your toes into. That’s still there also. My grandma’s hair is still not gray. She always had the most beautiful black rolled hair. She could take a pan out of the oven without an oven mitten. She used to tell us about her mother sitting on the front porch swing chewing tobacco. I loved those stories. I loved the smell of her car. She drove this huge Oldsmobile. There is a cistern still in her backyard. There is a backroom in her house, the sewing room, where she had a whole wall full of little shelves. Every shelf was full of colorful, carefully folded fabric. She was a great seamstress. She made a quilt for me when I was little and matching curtains. I can’t wait to put them on Julia’s bed when she gets a big girl bed. My grandma used to buy me french fries from McDonalds while we sat in the car waiting to pick up my cousin from a nightclub when she was a teenager.

My grandma’s hair isn’t so beautiful anymore. It’s thinned out and isn’t washed very often, considering that she can’t bathe herself anymore. She can’t cook her amazing meals anymore. She can’t remember who her granddaughter is anymore.

She apologized to me for not being able to remember me. She said, “I feel bad I can’t remember you. I know it’s not my fault, but I still feel bad. How old am I?” “81,” my dad says. “Really? That old? Well when you get to be my age you are going to remember what your grandma said. You know it’s hard to be old, nothing works like it used to.”

As I was getting ready to leave she said, “Well it was good to see you again even though I can’t remember you.” My mom told her about how she used to watch me every morning while she went to school. I told her about how I used to spend the night at her house all the time and she would make pancakes for me in the morning. She said, “Well I’m glad I made you happy.” She did make me happy.

I wrote this entry, not because I am upset that my grandmother’s memory is leaving her so quickly, but because I wanted to make sure my grandma doesn’t leave my memory.

2009
Of course her memory left her completely with the effects of Alzheimer's. She eventually invented her own world which seemed to be informed only by the soap operas that she used to watch religiously. She still had a head of black hair when she died, not a gray hair on her head.

Skipping Out

2009-04-10T06:34:00.000-07:00

I think we'd all be better off if we skipped out more often.

Blogging... Meh...

2009-04-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

I've been out of the blogging and reading blogs mood lately. I haven't been spending nearly as much time online, not sure why. I've been a devoted (obsessed) blog reader for 9 years and I'm far from going cold turkey, but not much has been inspiring me lately, so... something, I don't know.
When I was in Las Vegas, I covertly snapped these photos of the Russian Ice Skating team taking a break outside some enormous casino or another. I love it that they are still in costume, soaking up the rays and ignoring the stupid tourist pretending to take photos of a lovely tree or perhaps that pink flower there. I love that they all leaned their flags against the tree before relaxing.

Birds, Shoes, and Stuff

2009-04-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of the new me. I ate bacon and eggs for breakfast this morning. There were leftovers and because I hadn't brought lunch to work, I ate bacon and eggs for lunch. The kids wanted to stop at the chip place on the way home. This has become a weekly indulgence that I allow, because it's so cheap and it makes them so happy. So now I sit here following up my bacon and eggs exclusively diet with chips and queso. Yum!

Now I'll move away from disgusting diets and on to feet. I had two child free hours to burn while I waited for my tire be fixed last week and so I decided to walk to the various stores in the strip malls surrounding Sam's. Baton Rouge is such a pedestrian UNfriendly city. I stopped at one of those overstock type stores and they had this beautiful pair of skinny heel brown shoes that I fell in love with. I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket, so I bought them. So what, right? I grew up only putting on shoes when absolutely necessary. The bottom of my foot is as rough as a shoe sole and I have WIDE cajun girl feet. Growing up I could never find nice shoes to fit me. We had to shop at City Shoe Service because they carried girls shoes in wide sizes. All my work shoes are sensible and until 5 years or so ago, I never wore sandals because I was embarrassed of my feet. But these shoes were so beautiful and so I bought them and they made my feet look skinny and amazing. By the end of the day I had blisters everywhere, even under my toes somehow, but man I still love those shoes so much I think I'm going to plan my whole wardrobe around them.

The bird in the pic above comes to our tree every year. Maybe it's always her or maybe it's her babies coming back? Anyway we always look forward to seeing her in the spring, but the big storms we had last week blew away her nest and eggs. The kids found the empty eggs last weekend.

Choose Your Own Adventure

2009-03-28T06:03:00.000-07:00

This week has been filled with work, work, and more work topped off with a flat tire and a 2.5 hour wait at Sam's for a repair.
I love this picture. It's some weird seeds or leafy type things that had fallen into the stream and gotten stopped by some rocks and branches.

Tunica Hills Trip Take Two

2009-03-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

Maybe we should have taken it as an ominous sign that we almost hit a hawk (those things are huge) on the way to Clark Creek/Tunica Hills this time around. Instead of hanging out and relaxing in the stream we decided to push forward and see two more waterfalls. The walking was a little harder on the trail to the falls, but it was much harder on the stream bed. Four year olds walking barefoot over boulders taller than their heads is probably not such a great idea. I kept thinking about why it didn't go as well this time as last and I keep going back and forth between "Sometimes I expect too much from them." and "My kids are whiny and poorly behaved." I think it's a combination of the two really. Should I have expected just turned four year old kids to climb up and down steep hills for three miles not including the time spent on the stream bed? I get bored and want to do stuff with them that interests me, but I think this time it was too much for them.
I can't try to ponder my motherhood failures and successes anymore. I'm busy answering Ella's questions about death. "We don't want to die do we? When are you going to die? Is Gram going to die after you or before you? Is it okay to talk about dying?" Now she's moved on to gender issues. Time to go.

Advice on Travel with Children

2009-03-17T15:01:00.001-07:00

I’ve had several ideas for posts lately. A couple of my brilliant ideas:
Advise for flying with young children. First, visit your pediatrician and beg for mercy and sedatives. Next, sedate children. Last, fly in peace. Ha, ha. Not very funny, but true. Flying with three young children is like being forced to sit in a small closet with them, with no distractions, while people stand around you with clipboards and rate your ability to entertain your children QUIETLY. “Yes, Mr. Business Man flying coach and trying to review your charts while looking very important, I dare to fly with three children. They are going to talk the entire time and completely ruin your concentration. Welcome to my world!” Actually my real advice for flying with kids is to slide your credit card through the little slot next to the TV screen on the head rest. Find the cartoon channel for the kids and put in your ear buds. Those will be the best $6 bucks you have ever spent on TV. I tried to be brave and entertain the kids on the flight up. On the flight back, I paid $6 for them to be quiet and watch Spongebob.

Advise for getting through security with young children. First, DO NOT fly in winter. If you do, you have assured your failure as you will have to juggle coats, hats, boots, carry on bags and three human beings. Next, leave at 4:30 in the morning from a non major airport. Last, tell your children that if they do not stay together, answer the man when he asks you your name, and put your shoes back on quickly (faster please), then the man with the blue uniform and the gold badge is going to force you to eat your spaghetti sauce with the basil leaves in. That’s right! You won’t be allowed to take out all the yucky stuff like onions! And basil leaves! Last again, warn them that if the nice lady wearing the blue uniform and gold badge offers you a gold sticker shaped like a badge with the words “DEN Junior TSA Officer” on it, don’t look at her with disdain (Though really, why? Is this supposed to inspire my kids to be like you? Ensuring the safety of our skies and all that). Just take the sticker and wear it on your shirt proudly. It will make mommy laugh every time she looks at you for the next 4 hours.

Co-Explorers

2009-03-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

After our terror inducing grocery store experience, I decided to take the kids out on an adventure on Sunday. We finally made it out to Tunica Hills or Clark Creek Natural Area. I had heard about this place probably 10+ years ago, but never could find the right time to get out there. It was always too hot or too cold or too busy or too many babies needed care. This weekend while Mike was out of town I decided to take the girls to explore and see some waterfalls.
This is naive, but this is what I thought motherhood would be like. I'd birth these babies; care for them, love them, and they would be my best friends. Why fuss and fight with your parents when all they want is to do fun stuff with you and chill out? I know. Naive. I guess that's what happens when a 22 year old starts a family (don't regret a minute of it, what we have now is perfect - for the record).
I imagined weekend hikes, canoeing and camping. I imagined happy kids running wild with dirty feet and muddy clothes. I think more times like these will happen as they keep getting older.
The terrain there was a bit treacherous for two just turned four year old kids, but they were troopers. All of them were. Highly recommended day trip if you are in the area. It's definitely not for the under 4 year old age group though, unless you plan to carry them in a carrier.

That Mother

2009-03-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

I was totally that mother today. The one who could not control her kids in the store. The one speaking through clenched teeth in an effort not to yell. The one who made promises in hopes that the reward was so enticing that the kids would make an effort to behave. The carts with two seats in front are in theory a good idea, but what happens when you have siblings in such close proximity to each other? One starts annoying the other and then all hell breaks loose. When I tried to separate them, you would have thought I was ending a blissful play date early for absolutely no reason. Siblings argue all the time and I get that, but with the twins it is something completely different. I don't want to deconstruct their relationship with each other, but let's just say that I think they will need to be in separate classes as soon as possible. The less time they spend together, the better they may get along when they are together.
As we were getting to the car, I was considering delivering on the promise even though they were little hellions, just to avoid the fallout, but then one more episode of outright disobedience put me over the edge. They have such a need to for independence but, at the same time, they so need my attention at every turn. God, this business of being a mom is HARD. Exhausted, red eyed, and wet faced I drove up to Chick Fil A and ordered 1 kid's meal, not 3. The one child who was good and helpful in the store got her reward and I got to deal with two outraged four year olds for the next 20 minutes. Thank God I went ahead and got that pint of Ben and Jerry's.

Winterpark

2009-03-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

I remember getting off the plane in New Orleans after being in Las Vegas for several days and breathing in that wet, wet air and feeling sooooo glad to be home. This time I got off the plane in Houston and felt soooo happy to be able to walk more than three steps without having to stop and take a break to catch my breath.
The trip was fantastic overall. We all skied like champs. We all figured out how to get off of the ski lift without face planting into the snow. We all experience moments were our thighs were burning so badly and we looked down and realized we were only half way down the mountain on extremely steep terrain and those people coming off that trail to the right were going so fast, so we better get out of the way and wouldn't it be nice if we "accidentally" ran into that post holding up the ski lift so at least then we could stop for a moment? Or maybe that was just me. Skiing is intensely physical and we would all go home dragging our feet the last couple of blocks, feeling completely exhausted. We would shovel some food in our mouths, bath, sleep and start over the next day. It was awesome!

I swear it was a bear

2009-03-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

You know you are from South Louisiana if...
You mistake a dog for a bear. Who knew dogs actually hang on to their fur in some parts of the country? I bet dog ownership is much easier if your pup isn't in a constant state of shedding to cool down.

Mardi Gras

2009-02-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry to the old couple, I just couldn't resist.

Bohemian

2009-02-11T15:59:00.000-08:00

There are days when I rush, rush, rush through the morning at home with the kids because I need to get to get to work on time, at least occasionally. I fuss at the kids; push them to just make up their mind already about what they want to wear, what they want to eat; You need what for school? Since when? And on and on. I finally get to work 15 minutes late, sit down at my desk and realize that in this desk, in this chair, surrounded by these cheap gray cubicle walls is the last place I want to be. I want to be home with my husband and kids making pancakes, playing outside, taking pictures. Sometimes I resent the kids for making the morning routine so hard (Do we have to negotiate over everything? Can’t you just wear this dress today?). But then I get to work and I resent work for putting me behind these ridiculous gray walls. There are weeks and months that I find it so difficult to balance these things that most morning I find myself fantasizing about joining the circus to be rid of all of it or buying an RV and just hanging out in campgrounds and vacant lots with the kids running wild. I want to take pictures of the fields and the trees and my wild kids.
But then there are times like now, when I just want to hold tightly on to my job, my suburban home, my normal kids, and feel thankful that I have them.

Grey walls with the ridiculous squiggles on them, I love you!

You want to pile more work on me? Hey just makes me more indispensable, throw it my way!

You want to wear two shirts, a dress, and pants to school today? Ha, you are such a quirky kid! No problem.

Mix three different cereals in one bowl and put the milk in a cup so you can pour it yourself? How creative. Of course you can!

The cuts at first seemed far away and I really thought we wouldn’t be touched by them at least for another year and a half if at all. But with state revenues so unsure and the required cuts just getting bigger and more sweeping, I’m not even sure if we will last that long. We may be embracing that bohemian, RV livin' lifestyle before we know it.

Guess Who Went to the Andrew Bird Conert Last Night?

2009-02-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

ME!!!!!!!!!!!
The concert was amazing. I don't know how to describe music, but I'll try anyway. Andrew Bird's music is beautiful, complex, and simple all at once. He combines violin, guitar, drums, and vocals. He creates loops with the instruments, then sings and plays another instrument over the loops. I know it sounds lame, but I find it to be just wonderful.

So to get to this concert, I had to buy tickets from some TicketBastard reseller site. I paid four times the original ticket price for one ticket. When it came in the mail though, there were two tickets, so that certainly eased the pain. Then we had to drive to Houma to drop off the kids, then drive to New Orleans. We parked in the quarter in a free spot, but it was about a mile away from the House of Blues. So we decided to tempt fate and bring my camera even though it clearly stated "No Cameras" on the ticket. So we had to walk back to the car, then back to the concert, which meant we missed the opening act. But the concert was just so worth it. I love seeing music live and I really missed being in that atmosphere, surrounded by people who love the same music I do. There was about a ten year age difference between me and the rest of the crowd, but that was OK. It was great, it was great, it was great. OK, I'll stop gushing now. It was awesome! Sorry...

Ugh

2009-02-04T17:52:00.000-08:00

Things at, work place, are piling up. The ghost in the pipes in the work place bathroom is going through something really horrific this week, because not only does the bathroom reek of sewer gas, but whole outside of the building smells like a post spicy gumbo bomb. Both of my attempts to make focaccia bread turned out to be amazing smelling bricks. The sandwich I made with focaccia, roasted red bell peppers, baby spinach, fresh mozzarella and balsamic vinaigrette tasted like salty bricks with mush inside. I have a babysitter for the concert on Saturday night, but NO TICKETS! Why did Andrew Bird have to become so popular? Damn Hipsters, buying up all my tickets. Give the 31 year old mom a break! Wednesdays aren't supposed to be like this.

Japanese Magnolias

2009-02-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

I have one of these trees in my backyard. It struggles along pitiously, strangled by its larger neighbors. These pictures were taken at LSU at this time last year.

Prospect 1 - Ninth Ward

2009-02-01T10:58:00.000-08:00

Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1], the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States, opened to the public on November 1, 2008 in museums, historic buildings, and found sites throughout New Orleans.
Upon realizing our lameness at not having gone to Prospect.1, despite knowing about it before it even started, my friend Brian and I decided that it was time to go on the last weekend of the exhibit. Brian forgot his wallet and my house nearly burned down, but I'm still glad we went.
The Lower Ninth Ward exhibit was the first on our list. I haven't been since the hurricane. Well, I have never been really, so this was my first trip. Here's what I saw: field after field of weeds with house pilings peaking through, abandoned houses, nature retaking ground previously occupied by homes, and totally mod houses with aluminum roofs and solar panels. It was surreal.

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008

2009-01-29T18:33:00.000-08:00

My favorite crafty blogs have all been raising awareness of the soon to be implemented Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The act was meant to protect US consumers from lead paint, loose pieces, and other poorly made children's products. It protects by requiring manufacturers to do testing on their products before they can be sold. Normally this would be a positive thing, but the requirement is for all who sell children's products even mom and pop crafters. Personally I'm on the fence about the whole thing. I want to prevent kids from being harmed by poorly made toys, but I don't want to stop the crafters from making a buck on their stuff either. So I'm not sure where the happy medium is, but I do know that the act is already putting people out of business because they can't afford the testing and don't want to expose themselves to lawsuits. So if you care, write to your representatives and senators!Etsy has a much better explanation of all this than I could ever cobble together. If you haven't checked out Etsy before, now is the time.

Settling or Settling Down

2009-01-27T11:02:00.000-08:00

I think we all have an image of ourselves. The decisions that we make on the big and little things are usually a reflection of the image we have of the person we think we are. I’ve been unhappy with our living situation pretty much since we move to our current house four years ago. We moved out away from the city and our jobs so we could get a bigger house for less money in a safe neighborhood with a great public school. Our school options were limited because we chose not to consider Catholic or any other religion based school for our kids. It seemed like the right choice at the time.
Since then we were able to get our school aged child into a private nonreligious school. We’ve realized that there are no young children on our block. We’ve grown to resent the daily commute. Our lives and choices and ages are far from those of our neighbors.
Since we moved into this house four years ago we have had twins born, we planted a vegetable garden, we’ve created a little vineyard in the backyard. We’ve served as hurricane refuge for family and friends, which we can do because we bought the big cheap house in the burbs. We have a huge yard by city standards anyway, in which we can have the swing set, the garden, and the grapes. When the doorbell rings it’s the teenager down the street asking if he can cut the grass for $30, not the unwashed, red eyed transients asking to rake our leaves for $5.00. There are so many advantages and so many disadvantages. When do you decide to just accept what you have as enough?
We are at a point where I think we have decided. We are refinancing the house and putting up solar panels. We are continuing to make this cookie cutter 70s house ours. So where does this leave my image of myself and my family? I think we can be the weird family with the solar panels who chose to live in a safe “family friendly” neighborhood. I know there is so much to be thankful for right now while our country goes through adjustments and changes to right the wrongs. I guess its time for me to sit back and appreciate how great things are, while they are.

Think That You Might Be Wrong

2009-01-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

These signs kept showing up as we drove around all of the Prospect One art sites. Not sure what their intent was, but I like to consider the possibilities. There are so many things we could be and probably are wrong about...

Willie Mae's Scotch House

2009-01-22T16:34:00.001-08:00

Last summer I heard this story on NPR about Willie Mae's Scotch House. The restaurant was destroyed by Katrina and people from all over came together to rebuild the restaurant for her to get back in business. Before the Hurricane she won the James Beard award, which is very prestigious in the foodie world. Her trademark meal is fried chicken. About the same time I heard the story on NPR, news affiliates all over picked up the story and Willie Mae's became a tourist destination for people looking for authentic New Orleans fried chicken and other Southern favorites. So on a whim my friend Brian and I spent a day exploring Prospect One (more on that in a later post). We drove and walked all over the city and around 2:00pm were famished. I know better than to expect too much from a place that has been hyped up as much as this place has, and it did prove to be a disappointing experience, but... the chicken was fantastic. The batter was light and crispy. There was no chewy skin attached to the fried batter. The chicken beats Popeye's any day. But... all I could think about as I was chowing down was those poor puny little chickens. The size of the chicken pieces was so tiny I couldn't help but think they must be buying the cheapest little chickens available. After I ate my food including the generous side of rice with gravy and green beans, I was still hungry. So my advice is to stop by Willie Mae's for the experience and to check out Phillis Wheatley Elementary School across the street, but don't do it when you are hungry.

History

2009-01-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

I missed the big events today. My work internet connection just couldn't handle the demand for streaming video. All three of my kids including the two three year olds watched the inauguration, but I missed it. Tonight we light fireworks and drink wine, say goodbye to George W. and wish the best for our new president. I love it that all three kids know not only who Barack Obama is, but why today is such a big deal. Hopefully in my daughters' lifetime, they will see a female president. Wouldn't that just change everything? A black president and a female president.

#1 Mom!

2009-01-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get a harebrained scheme in my head and if it weren't for my husband, I would follow it through to the end. Sometimes despite my husband I follow them through, but that's another story... So last weekend one twin said she wanted yellow hair and hearing that, the other said she wanted orange hair. So normally I would dismiss this with a "Wouldn't that be cool?" but this time it got me thinking. The twins have been getting upset about their teachers not being able to tell them apart, so perfect solution right? I figured I would get a hearty "Are you nuts?" from my husband, but surprisingly he said, "That might work." That was all I needed to run off to the store with the kids for hair dye. Behold the results:

Fickle Fairy

2009-01-15T15:39:00.000-08:00

Did you know that if you fall asleep in your daughters bed during the nightly cuddle and it happens to be the same night there is a recently lost tooth under her pillow, that the Tooth Fairy will be frightened and not leave money? It's true it happened just the other night at our house. Who knew the Tooth Fairy was so skitish?

Crafty Sunday

2009-01-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

I finally finished sewing the curtains and tie backs for the twins' beds. I think they turned out great. Don't they look prime for plenty of imaginative play?

More Wheels

2009-01-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

I love looking at old machinery.
The kids and I just got caught in a rain storm while out riding the bike. Thankfully it is 80 degrees out, so it was no big deal. Now its left overs and maybe a movie later.
OK, I thought I was alone in here. I just got up to put the speghetti in the boiling water. I opened the pantry and found my 8 year old standing there (there is barely room in there for her little sisters much less her) and she was sniffing the Ketchup. My kids are weird. They'll grow up to be just like me!

Lazy Saturday

2009-01-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

Levee surrounding Lake Pontchartrain in Metairie.

Mmmmm...

2009-01-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

I’ve had a number of bugs in food and hair in food experiences at restaurants. Once every person at my table had hair in their food. The manager tried to say that was impossible because every one of her kitchen staff was bald. Think about that for a second. If everyone was bald, then where was the hair coming from? It was curly and short. Barf. And also, always a bad idea to try to blame such things on the customer. I think the kitchen staff had some kind of bet going to see how many people they could feed… um… chest hair to. (Reassure me, surely it was chest hair right?!!!!) Shame on you Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro.
In my first year of college I was served a silverfish with my meal in the cafeteria. The next year we had the most bizarre dining experience I’ve ever had in my entire life at a little local Italian Place. We were seated directly under a window unit AC which dripped water on our table the entire time. It was truly a candlelit meal in that the only light in the place was from candles. The rather large (Think “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” largeness) lady who owned and cooked there came and ate dinner a table near us after we got our food. And a fly flew into someone’s meal. Oh and all the waiters were frail, elderly black gentlemen. Totally bizarre.
Several years back I worked at the Capitol where the cafeteria was run by inmates. A got a free prisoner pube with my stuffed bell pepper.
A few weeks ago we ate at Thai Kitchen in BR and I found a half of an unidentifiable squiggle bug in my buffet meal. I pushed it aside and kept eating. What? The food was good!
Today was the worst of all. A live silverfish (again) crawled out of the bread basket at Olive Garden. So how many bugs and strands of strange hair have we eaten without noticing?

Punch in the Gut

2009-01-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

There is a stretch of interstate 12 right near my house that is particularly dangerous. There have been several multi car pileups resulting in some horrible, sad fatal accidents. It's the section where the interstate changes from three lanes to two lanes. People don't expect it and there they are going 75+ mph and suddenly faced with break lights. Someone took it upon themselves to post signs near the the side of the road warning to slow down. For a while the interstate was heavily patrolled and we frequently saw blue flashing lights on our evening commute. Three or so weeks back the city got the brilliant idea to place one of those portable thingees that shows you how fast you are going as you approach. Every evening as we sit in stopped traffic, inching forward, breaking, inching forward, breaking, we come upon that big roadside sign with the flashing yellow numbers reading "0." It's like a punch in the gut. As if I didn't already know I wasn't moving at all. OK so maybe its done some good, but couldn't they turn the thing off between 3 and 7 every day?

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T07:11:00.000-08:00

So, I'm a day late... Below is evidence of what we did to celebrate.

The Toilet of Dispair

2008-12-31T17:21:00.000-08:00

The building in which I spend the majority of my waking hours has been having some… shall we say, plumbing issues? Yes, plumbing issues. There is one particular stall which has been locked almost since we moved into this brand new building several years back. This stall forever has a pool of standing water on the floor with bits of broken up toilet paper floating around. There is a constant grumbling, gurgling, discontented sound coming from the pipes in that particular stall. It also happens to be the stall in which the floor drain exists; the floor drain from which sewer gas has been escaping into the bathroom for the past 4 – 6 weeks. If you’ve never experienced the smell of sewer gas, here is a definition from Wikipedia:

Sewer gas is a mixture of gases produced and collected in sewage systems by the decomposition of organic household or industrial wastes. These gases include hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Other substances improperly disposed in sanitary sewers and septic systems may contribute to sewage gas content (e.g. gasoline, mineral spirits). Sewer gases are of concern due to their odor, health effects, and potential for fuel explosions.

Oh, HO, HO, HO! Place in which I spend the majority of my waking hours, how I love you and the inefficiency of everyone involved in this specific problem and the horrifically stupid design of this building. Because I can’t use the bathroom without gagging every time I enter, I’ve decided that the bathroom is just haunted and the poor plumbers, who have surely been called out to fix the problems, just don’t know how to deal with ghosts and therefore are unable to remedy the situation. It’s a mischievous ghost, but one who has a tragic past as all ghosts do, so you can’t help but feel kind hearted toward it, despite the ill effect its presence has in your life. See? Now the problem is totally bearable.

Louisiana Proud

2008-12-29T18:44:00.000-08:00

Refineries and such belching away on a Sunday afternoon.

High Expectations?

2008-12-27T18:08:00.000-08:00

Today I'm wondering if I expect too much? Shouldn't an expensive over the stove type microwave last more than 6 years? Shouldn't a toaster last more than 2 years? Shouldn't a coffee pot last more than a year?

Since I've been jogging regularly, I have had the following injustices occur:
1. Snowball thrown at me by teenagers in truck.
2. Air horn blown at me by teenagers in truck.

Hmmmmm. I hadn't considered that maybe it was the same guys? Maybe. Oh and maybe they just think I'm really hot and are trying to get my attention by being mean. Right! That's it! Stupid kids.